Fun Friday: New series “I am Shauna Rae” Chronicles the life of a 22-year- old “trapped” in the body of an eight-year-old
Dear Readers,
Forgoing Friday’s theme, I have decided to highlight one of TLC’s newest series, “I am Shauna Rea.” Since the creation of this blog, it has been my dream to cover controversial issues surrounding different disabilities or conditions; with the introduction of weekday “themes,” this dream had been put on the back burner as part of an ongoing effort to create more of a growing audience for my blog. However, in the process, I temporarily forgot my primary purpose for this for- to entertain and inform others about new information about disabilities. That being said, I will try to get back to that primary goal- keeping the themes intact while informing readers of further shows/information about disabilities when necessary.
This may include an occasional distraction from weekly themes such as today.
Over the past three weeks, I have enjoyed watching as a new “kind” of disability is revealed on The Learning Channel (TLC). No, I’m not talking about a newly discovered disability recently reported in the news; rather, one that is rarely talked about – the side effects of using chemotherapy to treat childhood cancer. Now I’m not saying chemo should be banned as many strides have been made when treating cancer in children these days; I’m just saying we should be more aware of the potential long-term side effects these drugs can have.
I believe Shauna Rae would agree!
Shauna was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer at just eight months. She quickly underwent surgery to remove most of the tumor and had chemotherapy to shrink what was left. However, doctors discovered that the chemotherapy had stopped her pituitary gland from working and stunted her growth.
At just 3’10” tall, Shauna is not your average 22-year-old young woman; because of her short stature, she deals with her own unique set of Challenges- anything from ranging how to navigate the dating scene, age this discrimination in public, to the battle for independence from parents to the battle for independence.
Join me as I learn more about Shauna and her family every Tuesday at 10 PM