There Is So Much More Under the Scary - by Ellie Geppert

Hi! I’m Ellie. I’m 16, a sophomore in high school, and was diagnosed with classic Turner syndrome (TS) at birth. If you’re someone who’s early in this journey, I know you might be looking at information about Turner syndrome and panicking a little more with each line or statistic you read. My goal with this is to show you there is so much more to this story than what Google and doctors will tell you.

When I was little, my parents (like most) were worried about my future. I was a complicated baby with food sensitivities and failure to thrive. As a toddler, I was so terrified of my growth hormone injection that we took a few years off. I could probably qualify for frequent flier miles to my local children’s hospital, and little me was probably the single most nervous patient in that place.

Ready for the good stuff? Now, I’m a thriving teenager with plans to go to medical school. I’m a straight-A’s honors student with wonderful friends and will be taking leadership roles in both my school newspaper and band next year. Medical things still definitely take up space in my life, but I’m not sure that I would have known I wanted to be a doctor since kindergarten without them.

So, to everyone reading this, know there is so much hope under the scary. If you’re the parents of a recently diagnosed child, the struggles that doctors say your daughter is bound to face don’t define her. With a missing X chromosome comes unshakable stubbornness and resilience! Lastly, know that I am rooting for every single one of you.