EDITORIAL : A WILLINGNESS TO LIVE.YOU would have thought it would be difficult for 17-year-old Denny Sim (1) (Society for Information Management, Chicago, IL, www.simnet.org) Founded in 1968 as the Society for MIS, it is a membership organization made up of corporate and division heads of IT organizations. to get up every day and go to high school, knowing that the rare disease he had could kill him at any minute. You might have thought that he would have wallowed in self-pity for having this awful affliction that stunted his growth, brittled his bones, weakened his heart and made him appear to be 88 years old. You would have thought he would have been ostracized, teased tease v. teased, teas·ing, teas·es v.tr. 1. To annoy or pester; vex. 2. To make fun of; mock playfully. 3. and excluded to the point where he would curl up curl v. curled, curl·ing, curls v.tr. 1. To twist (the hair, for example) into ringlets or coils. 2. and hide. But you would be wrong. Denny Sim, by all accounts from his family and friends and in his writings, never felt that way. Instead, he seized every opportunity that came his way in his all-too-short, all-too-painful life that ended two weeks ago. He worked hard in school, played on the Monroe High School For other uses, see James Monroe High School. Monroe High School may refer to:
He had more friends than he could count. Denny exceeded every expectation. He lived longer than anyone thought he would. The average life span for people with progeria progeria Disorder with characteristics of premature aging. Affected persons have thin skin, go bald or gray early, and develop diseases of aging decades earlier than normal individuals. is 13 years. He was going to attend college, having been accepted at the University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). , Irvine, and hoping for UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX . But more than anything, he inspired those who knew him to be a better person because he accepted nothing less from himself. In his college application essay, Denny wrote: ``Progeria may shorten my life span and bring other illnesses. However, one thing I refuse to let it do is take away my willingness to live to the fullest by being active in school, sports and our community.'' Denny's powerful words ought to serve as a reminder to everyone - healthy and ill alike - that by just living we can contribute to society and make everyone around us more thoughtful, happier and fulfilled. Since Denny allowed the Daily News to bring his story to you two years ago, we have followed his tremendous life and have been in awe of him. It was a pleasure to know him. And we thank Denny for teaching us - and many others - a good lesson about the value of life. |
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