Guest guest Posted July 28, 2003 Report Share Posted July 28, 2003 On page 115 of the August 4 issue of People magazine, there is a really sweet and inspirational short article about three teens that met through an Internet chat room and became close friends. One of the teens, from Kansas, was diagnosed with coproporphyria, at age 15. She turned 18 in July, and the Los Angeles Starbright Foundation granted her wish to meet her two online pals -- 14-yr. old Molly Pearce of Colorado, who has Hirschsprung disease, and 15-yr. old Spencer Riddle from Utah who has CF. The photo shows them happy and smiling, but the final few sentences of the article had me wiping away tears. It says: " They giggled and gossiped like typical teens, talking about Clooney, rock bands and nurses who say, " It'll only hurt a little. " And they shared the dreams they hold against the odds: Pearce wants to be a vet, a doctor and Riddle plans to study genetics. " He wants to cure all our diseases, " says in the dark of her bedroom. Whispers Pearce: " That would be good. " I looked on People.com but didn't see the article available online. About hereditary coproporphyria: According to the article, five years ago was a typical teen, but the disease caused nerve damage that left her confined to bed; her only nutrition is tube feedings. The article says she's so sensitive to light that even turning on the bedroom lamp for five minutes causes her skin to burn, both legs, one arm and her stomach are paralyzed and pain is constant. She's such a pretty young lady... all three of those kids look so fresh-faced and happy. Really puts a lot into perspective... Kim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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