My sister Gina suffered from an AVM (arteriovenous malformation) at the age of 23 which caused a brain hemorrhage and resulted in her being paralyzed on her right side and she suffers from aphasia...a condition brought to public attention because actor Bruce Willis now has it too. She went to Northwestern, University of Illinois, and University of Chicago to become a physical therapist but never fulfilled her dream to become a PT.
Gina was also very proficient with Spanish. She was part of the Spanish Honor Society (SHH) in high school and took the National Spanish Exam (NSE) which won her a trip to Mexico. She's inspired me to pursue Spanish as a career and bring the SHH (since 2006) and NSE (since 2007) to my high school so hundreds of students can also benefit from these opportunities.
She is also extremely kind and that's inspired me to bring the Pay It Forward / Random Acts of Kindness colloquium to my high school ever since 2009.
Gina still fights for her mental and physical health every day and lives with my parents. She spends her days doing 300-piece puzzles, watching her favorite TV shows, rooting for the Chicago Cubs, listening to 80s music, going to PT, bowling, and bocce ball. She has dreams of going to Italy and we hope to get her there one day.
