Living With Wolfram Syndrome – Adam Zwan
Patience
All great things are worth waiting for. Being patient has proven to be one of my greatest attributes and has served me well throughout life. No matter the task, managing time wisely and being patient has given me the ability to start things, do them well, and finish with satisfaction.
While in grade school, I would start assignments, projects, and other school work as soon as the task was given. Early in life, I discovered that procrastination always led to an overwhelming and rushed ending. My to-do list would get cluttered with assignments and I would have to rush to get things done on time. By 3rd grade I changed my tactics and began breaking things down and completing them little by little so that by the deadline I would only have to make the final touches. Working piece by piece I could patiently complete any task on time and in a manner that met all demands.
The next chapter in life involved college and driving. College went very well because I tackled the studying, work, and assignments the same way I did in grade school, with patience and good time management. Patience also helped me regarding college graduation. Instead of rushing to graduate and be done with school, I patiently completed course after course and made sure that each school semester ended with grades that I could be proud of. Fortunately, I was able to graduate with a grade point average that took my resume to new heights. In the same era, driving was a privilege that I valued and understood that by beginning a journey ahead of schedule I could patiently make my way to a destination and avoid rushed road rage. I always felt that if I was early, I was on time, and if I was on time, I was late.
Currently, I am patiently awaiting a successful cure for Wolfram Syndrome. The last I heard, drugs and stem cell research were showing successful results using mice and pigs; in approximately two years medical trials will begin on human patients. Patience will serve me well in this instance because if researchers are patient in discovering a cure, testing the cure, and proving that it works then the path of patiently waiting will end with a great outcome. By holding on and letting things take place as they should, I will be able to sustain the health I still have and look forward to successful repairs of damaged nerves.
All in all, patience has served me well in life and taught me that impatience can lead to unsatisfactory finish lines. Life’s lesson: all great things are worth waiting for!