Things Have Been Taken For Granted

Exams are usually an excuse for me not to update my blog, so now here I am after my very first Animal Physiology exam, writing a new post. I took the exam on Friday morning and the scores were out that very evening. Apart from being taken aback by the efficiency of them posting the results, I was quite happy with my results. I think this is the first time I say that I am happy with the scores of any one exam since I came to UofM. =p

Sorry about the previous post, which was extremely depressing and sad. But I am okay now, for those who are concerned. Heheh. Nothing much happened really between the time I wrote the post until now, apart from playing laser tag with a bunch of friends and my sister. Sorry to say that I did not like the game, just because I got last in all three games. I think it would be more fun if people don't kill me that much. :D

I have been down, moody and sad for the past week, mainly during the time I wrote that post. But after reading an article on the New York Times about people with rare genetic mutations, I started to realize that I have been taking life for granted. I nearly cried while reading that article.


These two girls may seem like normal children we see everyday, but in actual fact, they share a same chromosomal mutation called 16p11.2. This means that their chromosome number 16 on the top arm, which is p arm, has a deletion at the locus 11.2. This may just be a micro-deletion, as the article puts it, but the effect is drastic. These two girls are not related at all, but they were united as they both suffer from the same rare disease. The symptoms were somehow like autism, but it is actually not that. The girl on the left, whom is 14 this year, wears slip-on shoes, because she cannot ties the laces. She doesn't know her ABC's and have trouble recognizing colors. She has been diagnosed with mental retardation. The younger girl is 4. But she has been undergoing physical therapy since she was 9 months old, so she can count and knows her ABC's. Both of the girls don't cry when they are hurt, and it makes me wonder that is it because they won't feel the pain or what?

Then there's another girl with a different chromosome mutation called 22q13, which affects the lower arm of the chromosome, which is the q arm. She is 4 years old this year, but she doesn't speak. All she does is making a guttural growl hovering on the edge of language. That made me feel so sad.

All it took was a small, minor deletion of a single chromosome arm. How fortunate I am to be here, with a complete set of chromosome, functioning normally and being able to sleep, eat and talk like normal. But I have been taking these blessings for granted, as I kept complaining about life, saying life is depressing, making myself so moody and all. Furthermore, I should use these blessings to help those who don't have them, instead of complaining, whining and gossiping all day. How I wish I could help these unfortunate people out there, but it will be another ten years of accumulating knowledge and experience will I be able to make such contributions to the society.