New to Friends of Quinn.

Related: VCFS, clef palate, music, More Tagswriting, different, hospitals, new, Fewer Tags

by serenitydiscord
Saturday, March 13, 2010

Hey everyone! My name is Erin. This is my first blog entry on Friends of Quinn, so I thought I'd introduce myself a little. For the first 7 years of my life I walked around with a hole in my heart (literally). Once this was discovered I of course had open-heart surgery, and was soon thereafter diagnosed with VCFS. Around age 13 I had clef palate surgery, and have many other symptoms of VCFS as well. I know my case is fairly minor compared to others, but it still greatly affects my health and the way I live. Much like Quinn, I remember lots of Hospital visits growing up, and often find myself there today. Hospitals are one of my least favorite places, even though I do know how much they have helped me and that I will probably keep going back.

I recently graduated from college, and am having a hard time adjusting to the real world. No one ever warns you just how hard this transition will be. About a month after graduation I suffered from Encephalitis and once again wound up in the Hospital. I do not remember anything about those 3 days, except for waking up and being upset about my shoulder because it had somehow been completely dislocated during an MRI. But enough about that. After this incident, I took some time to heal and started looking for a real job. Another month went by and all I could find was a cashiering position at a local grocery store, which my friend who works there helped me get. I just recently quit this job, because it was negatively affecting my mental health. I am currently working on a Paralegal Certificate at BU (since I couldn't get into Grad School, I'm hoping that this will help me find a better job) and still trying to find a decent job. Anything but retail!

For fun I love to make music (I've been playing the clarinet for 15 years), read, and write. I have a website (http://swallowinghearts.deviantart.com) where I post most of my writing. I think creative outlets like music and writing are a great way for people with learning disabilities like this to express themselves. In real life I am incredibly shy, and a bit socially awkward, but I feel that I can always express how I feel better through written words. Playing music helps calm me down when I am upset. I love hanging out with my friends when I can (most of them live kind of far away). None of my friends have VCFS, so sometimes I feel a little uncomfortable with them, but for the most part I just try to overcome this. I hope that by joining this website I will be able to meet other people my age who are going through some of the same things, as I haven't really had the opportunity to meet others with VCFS before this. 

Thanks for reading my blog.  I'd love to hear from anyone about anything, so please feel free to get in touch!