ILLNESS NO MATCH FOR STUDENT'S DRIVE.Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Daily News Staff Writer Often seen tooling around the Santa Susana High School Santa Susana High School is the third high school located in Simi Valley. The school campus is a middle school that was converted. The school colors are: silver, black, white, and teal. The school mascot is the Troubador. They are a school of the arts. campus in his wheelchair, graduating senior Shaun Choe is reminded of all that he's had to overcome to get through high school, not the least of which is his lifelong struggle with muscular dystrophy muscular dystrophy (dĭs`trōfē), any of several inherited diseases characterized by progressive wasting of the skeletal muscles. There are five main forms of the disease. . A back operation a few years ago left him underweight Underweight An situation where a portfolio does not hold a sufficient amount of securities to satisfy the accepted benchmark of the portfolio's asset allocation strategy. Notes: and weak, and he uses a motorized mo·tor·ize tr.v. mo·tor·ized, mo·tor·iz·ing, mo·tor·iz·es 1. To equip with a motor. 2. To supply with motor-driven vehicles. 3. To provide with automobiles. chair while his classmates Classmates can refer to either:
But when the 18-year-old goes on stage with a saxophone in hand, his illness drops away, and the audience is left with his music. He received a standing ovation from his peers after performing a solo during a recent concert. ``He has obviously overcome some adversity in his life and it doesn't seem to bother him,'' said Assistant Principal Robert Johnson Robert Johnson may refer to:
Shaun was diagnosed with Duchenne's muscular dystrophy Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, n an X-linked recessive condition pres-ent at birth in which the muscles of the pelvis and legs waste away in a symmetric fashion. when he was 7, but has had the disease since birth. His mother, Bo Choe, said that before then, he seemed fine but a bit more frail than other children and more prone to falling down. When he started using a wheelchair in the fifth grade, he transferred from Abraham Lincoln Elementary School Lincoln Elementary School is the name of numerous schools, with most of them in the U.S. named after President Abraham Lincoln, including:
He later attended Sequoia Junior High School before it became Santa Susana, and he stayed on through the transition to high school. Shaun said he understands the terminal nature of his disease and that people with muscular dystrophy do not often live past their early 20s. But he remains optimistic that a cure will be found and he makes the best of the time he has. And he insisted on going to school, even during the worst of it. ``I set a goal for myself to get an education,'' he said. He will attend Moorpark College in the fall to study telecommunications. His mother said his extracurricular activities can be draining for her because he needs help with the smallest things. But Shaun's family, which also includes father, In Young Choe, and sister Myrna, 13, are proud of his determination to overcome his illness and do anything other students do. ``He sometimes gets very depressed, and feels like he's a burden to family and friends,'' Bo said. ``But he tries his best to do what he can do. He doesn't seem to give up and he lives day by day.'' CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1--Color) CHOE (2) Shaun Choe, 18, will attend Moorpark College in the fall to study telecommunications. Evan Yee/Daily News |
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