It was late one night when Adriana Tufino’s parents awoke to their daughter having a seizure. Frantically giving her CPR and confused about what was happening to their little girl, they called 911. Tufino was only seven years old when she was diagnosed with epilepsy. Epilepsy is a disorder in which a person’s nerve cell activity is disturbed and in turn causes seizures. Now a sophomore at Southwestern Adventist University, Tufino is studying to become a kind and caring nurse, something she found lacking as a sick child in the hospital.
Although the cause of epilepsy is unknown, what is known is that one of its causes is stress and Tufino was heavily bullied as a child. “She has matured more because of what she went through, she is stronger because of it, says her mother,” Christina Tufino.
Tufino had to take many medications for her epilepsy and was carefully watched over by her parents, especially at night as her seizures were nocturnal. The most seizures she had in a single year was about 60. After many visits to the hospital and experiences with different nurses she realized that some of the nurses weren’t what she had expected.
“They were always in a bad mood and they didn’t seem like they wanted to be there,” says Tufino. Her experiences with unfriendly nurses made her want to become a kind and caring nurse who shows empathy to others.
At the age of 12 the doctors told her that if her epilepsy didn’t end within a year she would never be cured. “I prayed every night so that God would cure me, but there isn’t exactly a
cure for epilepsy,” says Tufino. Many people prayed for her and what gave her hope during those tough times were her parents and her faith in God. That same year, she was cured. The seizures stopped and she no longer had to take medications. Tufino thinks that the only explanation for her epilepsy being cured is because God performed a miracle. Learning from her experience with epilepsy, she realized her passion for helping others in the medical field and she decided she wanted to be a nurse while attending high school.
Jennifer Montoya was her most influential teacher in high school. Montoya taught her anatomy and physiology and made her passion in that field grow. Montoya says that Tufino is determined and intelligent,” Adriana is well spoken, has an outgoing personality and a sense of humor. I think she will listen and communicate appropriately with patients.”
Tufino’s bubbly personality and kind smile will definitely bring a sense of comfort for those who are in need of medical care. As she starts the nursing program during her sophomore year of college, she is determined to study hard and become the change that we need in the world. To show kindness and love to everyone she encounters.
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