31 Days of SMA: Julia Lincoln

by Kevin Schaefer | August 20, 2020

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Day 20 of 31 Days SMA Topic: Nursing School and SMA This is @juliamarilyn25’s story: Living with Spinal Muscular Atrophy involves many hospital visits – from spinal surgeries to being hospitalized for the flu. Hospitals and their staff have had a large impact on my life. I learned to not be afraid of doctors and nurses, as they are just trying to help us. This is one of the many reasons why I chose Nursing as my college major. I am an incoming sophomore at Adelphi University and my dream is to become a pediatric nurse in a hospital or doctors office. Having SMA has definitely influenced my decision to continue along the path of Nursing because I know and understand what it is like to be the patient. I want to be able to help and care for pediatric patients just like how I was treated in the hospital. At this time, I am always getting asked if I still want to continue on the Nursing path. Especially because of everything that nurses are going through during this pandemic. My answer is always going to be yes! I understand the risks of being an SMA patient and being in the hospital, however there are going to be times when patients don’t have any family to lean on during difficult times. Another reason why I joined the Nursing program is so I can be the moral support for the patient when things get tough. Spinal Muscular Atrophy has not stopped me from achieving my goal, and it’s not going to. #SMAAwarenessMonth #SMAAwareness #31daysofsma2020

A post shared by SMANewsToday (@smanewstoday) on Aug 20, 2020 at 7:55am PDT

About the Author

Kevin Schaefer Kevin Schaefer (he/him) is a writer, podcaster, and lover of all things pop culture. Diagnosed with SMA type 2 at the age of 18 months in 1995, he shares a vast array of hilarious and eye-opening stories from his life with a neuromuscular disability. He works as the associate director of community content for this site’s parent company, BioNews. He also hosts the SMA News Today Podcast. Kevin is a graduate of North Carolina State University and lives with his parents in Cary, NC. People regularly mistake him for Tony Stark, on account of his intellect and advanced technological equipment.