May issue.pdf - Wingspan

May 4, 2009lccc.wy.edu/wingspanfeaturesWi n g s pa n21Optimist strives to help others overcomeFrom Merrill, Page 20In December 2006,errill moved into herwn place and begano make new friends.But one friend ofer husband was aan who seemedruly to care about herell-being. On onearticularly rough dayn March 2007, thisan came to comforter.Merrill had taken aew too many pills—inn attempt to ease themotional pain, not toill herself—and didn’tnd out until later, head taken advantagef her incapacitatedondition to rape her.he found out after heent pictures he hadaken to her husband.About this time,errill learned therain cancer herather had beenfighting since she wasin high school wasterminal. She movedback to Cheyenneand at Thanksgivingfound out her motherhad the rarest form ofthyroid cancer, andlater her other grandfatherdevelopedAlzheimer’s. Merrill,whose divorce wasfinalized in Decemberof that year, said herworst fear was losingher family, especially“if it were a suddenloss and I didn’t knowit was coming”.In January 2008,Merrill experiencedher first seizure. Shewas informed 35percent of people willhave one once in theirlife, so the doctorsweren’t concernedabout it. But in thefirst week of Septembershe had twoseizures at home andwas hospitalized bothtimes.The doctors thendiscovered she hada massive infectionand her kidneys wereshutting down. Aftera spinal tap foundabnormal white cells,she was diagnosedwith viral meningitis.Yet Merrill continuesto have seizuresto this day, one everycouple of weeks,and the doctors arestill unsure why. Sherecalled one day whenshe had a seizure inher public speakingclass and was so embarrassedshe refusedto return to class forseveral days.In July 2008, doctorsstarted suspectingshe had lupus, butMerrill said it takesfive years to make apositive diagnosisof the disease. Thenshe experienced hersecond miscarriage.Once, while Merrillwas on vacation, herbody quit makingenough platelets andred blood cells. Shesaid they are still notat normal levels.If all that werenot enough, Merrillrecently learned thather younger brotherhas a congenital kidneydefect in whichone kidney does notfunction at all andthe other functions atless than 50 percent,requiring a kidneytransplant.Despite all this,Merrill soldiers onand can be foundoften cheering upother people.Merrill had workedfor three years as acertified nurse’s assistant(CNA) at the LifeCare Center nursinghome but now worksin the emergencyroom at CheyenneRegional MedicalCenter.She spends herspare time volunteeringfor Fire DistrictNo. 2 and using hertitle as Miss LaramieCounty Galaxy topromote and helpFire Corps, whichconnects communityvolunteers who canassist in nonemergencyroles.She also enjoysscrapbooking, baking,painting, swimming,snowboarding, rockclimbingand generallyanything outdoors.Of her rock climbinghobby, she saidwith a laugh, “I knowit’s not the best ideawith a seizure disorder,but…”Merrill wants tobe a doctor because“I’ve always worked inthe health care field,and I love the feelingof being able to helppeople.” Because ofher family historyand how she has seenpeople suffer throughcancer, she wants tohelp ease their pain asan oncologist. If shehad the ability to doone thing, she woulduse that chance tocure cancer.Merrill is also writinga book about herexperiences caringfor her father whilehe suffers throughbrain cancer. She hadsearched for such abook unsuccessfully.She said writingthe book “won’t makeit easier or better,” butshe wants to share herexperience.Merrill has her ownbucket list she titled“Things To Do BeforeI Kick the Bucket,”which she had postedon her myspace.comaccount. Participationin a humanitarianeffort in a third-worldcountry to providevaccinations andaccess to differenthealth care serviceswould top that list.She plans to visitthe Mayo Clinic to seeif doctors can movebeyond the inconclusivetests and pinpointher exact medicalcondition.Another friendJennifer Ostorom, 20,who worked as a CNAat the nursing homewith Merrill, said,“[Ashley] doesn’t wantpeople to worry abouther. She would ratherworry about them,would do anythingfor anyone even if shedidn’t know them.”This is a womanwho has enduredmore trials thanmost people canimagine, but whileshe lounged in thecomfy, purple chairsat Starbucks sippingon her favorite, whitechocolate mochafrappuccino, thisstrong, beautifulyoung woman saidshe does not knowhow long her life maybe, but she wantsto spend it helpingothers.Her experienceshave opened a newperspective on life.“Dealing with yourown mortality makesyou do stuff faster,”she said. “[It] makesyou realize life is tooshort not to do things;it could be up tomorrow.I want to do everythingI can possiblydo in one day.”Merrill said her adviceto anyone experiencingrough timeswould be this: “There’sno point in letting itget to you. I always tellmyself there’s peopleout there who have itworse than I do. Yeah,I have some mysteryillness, but if you letit get to you, all it’sgonna do is get youdepressed.”