Mastering Life My Way
I wanted to introduce myself and thank you for welcoming me into the Turner syndrome community of strong, empowered, and overcoming women. My name is Dannelle, I was diagnosed with Turner syndrome at 4 years old.
As a child, I had frequent ear infections, both of my eardrums are ruptured, and I thank God that I can still hear. I have Meniere’s disease, and get vertigo sometimes. I started on growth hormone when I was about 11 years old. It was very beneficial, but was not without challenges. I am 5’3 and I understand that is tall for a woman with Turner syndrome. I have been through 8 different surgeries, which were hard at the time. I have also struggled with anxiety and depression for most of my life. I felt different, secluded, overlooked, and felt like I had to work so much harder than most.
Although I have some learning disabilities that include ADHD, dyslexia, and a processing disorder, I did graduate with a Master’s degree, and never had any special assistance in school. This is because I was never assessed or tested for learning disabilities until after I had obtained my Master’s! It was with tremendous hard work and dedication that I was able to complete my graduate degree. I am learning that I did it! if I can do one hard thing, I can move on to conquer another hard thing, and on to next.
I’m 33 years old now, and received my Master’s in Mental Health Counseling last year. I'm a registered intern working toward getting licensed. I’m in the middle of completing the required 2,000 hours of face-to-face clinical counseling hours. I was working with an agency, traveling and doing home therapy. However, this was very stressful for me, both with the traveling and attempting to keep up with the paperwork. I’m hoping to return to the churches I was previously counseling at, because it was great with the minimal paperwork, and I got to stay in one place. I’m learning that I need to find something and somewhere that is realistic for me to work, and a place that is willing to be patient with me – or I might just need to create my own job!
Additional Resources
Read about Height and Growth in Turner Syndrome here
Download the TSSUS Turner Topic A Patient Guide to Growth in Turner Syndrome here
Read about The Ears and Hearing in Turner Syndrome here
Find more resources about Education and Learning here
