disease

Live Like Lola
By Moriah Ratner
February 11, 2017 - 5:44pm
Suffering from a rare cancer, this 12 year old demonstrates the importance of hope and resilience.

The odds are against Lola Muñoz.

The 12 year old was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma on Aug. 26, 2016.  The average prognosis for a person diagnosed with what is known as DIPG is only 9-12 months. The survival rate is zero.

Lola lives with her family on Fort Drum Army base in Watertown. Her dad serves in the military and before moving to New York two years ago, the family lived in Germany and Kentucky.

Living with Lyme disease
By Valerie Crowder
February 27, 2015 - 10:41pm
Despite suffering from chronic Lyme Disease, Manlius resident Sylvia O'Connor raised four daughters, explored creative expression.

It wasn’t that she struggled to remember the names of her daughters’ friends. It wasn’t that she would forget to pick up her children after soccer practice. It wasn’t that she couldn’t remember the current year or how to count coins. It wasn’t that her foggy mind made her the family outcast. For Sylvia O’Connor, the worst part of Lyme disease was the pain, she said.

“Imagine if you slammed your hand into a car door and you could not extract your hand. You’re talking about pain that’s beyond pain — and you’re living with it,” O’Connor said.

Skin deep
By Alicia Aiello
January 12, 2010 - 4:58pm
SU sophomore Alicia Aiello only grew stronger after being diagnosed with a disease that attacked her intestines and colon.

It was summertime. I was 14 years old, and my life was about to change forever.

Instead of doing normal summertime things, like riding a bike or going swimming, I had crippling stomach pains. After a week, the first blast of pain subsided, only to come back with a vengeance.

I stopped eating — anything I ate increased the pain — and lost 10 pounds. My mom took me to my doctor, who said I was infected with Giardia Iamblia, a germ often found in public pools. That was wrong.