Living with Cleidocranial Dysostosis as a nursing student | In The Spotlight - video Dailymotion

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"There are times that people ask me how I manage everything, especially with my condition, but honestly, I just take it one step at a time." Growing up with Cleidocranial Dysostosis, Magdalene faced challenges that tested her resilience. Now a 21-year-old nursing student, she pursues her passion for helping others while also raising for awareness and acceptance of invisible disabilities.  Watch more: https://www.asiaone.com/video

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00:00I mean, if a condition you can't always see, but it's real, and I hope more people will

00:07understand that not all disabilities are always visible. I'm Magdalene, I'm currently 21 this

00:17year, and I'm a nursing student at NUS. For me, I joined nursing because health care was something

00:23that I always wanted to do, not just because I enjoyed the science behind it, and also I genuinely

00:28enjoy helping people. I always found joy in serving others, not just in healthcare aspect,

00:35but also just on volunteering. I enjoy volunteering a lot outside, in Mulin Youth Network, and I

00:40also lead a community engagement group in my school. We focus on a few aspects, for instance,

00:45education, elderly, environment, etc. So I run a weekly tuition programme for the under-privileged

00:51children at the Berlin Community. All these different parts of my life kind of shows how

00:56serving others brings quite a lot of joy to me, yeah. It's a lot to juggle, but I find

01:01a lot of meaning in it. And there are times that people ask me how I manage everything, especially

01:06with my condition. But honestly, I just take it one step at a time. Growing up, there were

01:13a lot of things I couldn't do. No PE, no heavy lifting, and high animal activities were off the

01:18limits as well. I was diagnosed with kiloclinial dysososis at birth. It's a rare condition that

01:24affects bone development, and for me, it shows up in a few ways. I don't have a full collar

01:29bone, my skull didn't fully close, and my teeth haven't grown the usual way. I still have

01:34many baby teeth, and I even have extra ones. There's also scoliosis, some hip issues, and I've

01:41always been shorter than most of my friends. It was especially tough during my teenage years,

01:48when my head started hurting a little more as I grew. It was a struggle. Since then, I've

01:55been through physiotherapy, and learned how to manage things a little better. Back then

02:02in primary school, it was more common for like children to laugh or like shout at me across

02:07the corridor, like maybe like asking about my hide, etc. And also like in terms of opportunities,

02:13my teacher didn't choose me to be a prefect, because they were afraid that I might be bullied

02:17by others. And there were also times like, for instance, I was withdrawn from a school trip

02:21because of medical risk that was possibly involved. Yeah, so times like this, I may feel a little

02:26effort. I still felt like they were being quietly close for me sometimes. But overall, I've learned

02:31to cope with it by myself. My parents helped me quite a bit in terms of this, in terms of sharing

02:36my mindset in the right way. So they would freehand me. Oh, when you go to school, they

02:40want to laugh at you. You are a bit different from your peers, but that's okay. You don't

02:45have to always explain to others what's going on. And it's okay to be different from the

02:49rest, yeah. Most importantly, they always encouraged me to keep going, to try, and not to overthink.

02:58And for me, a big turning point came after A-Levels, when I started working at Unclefong General

03:04Hospital as a basic care assistant. So that job allowed me to be in a work setting, work

03:10closely with like nurses, doctors, allied health professionals. It was a very hands-on job.

03:15I got to try a lot of things like showering patients, lifting patients, changing diapers,

03:20etc. And that gave me quite a good insight into like the healthcare scene as well. People

03:24often ask me how I managed to relieve patients given my condition. And honestly, it's not

03:28about the brute strength. It's about the technique, knowing how to transfer weight safely for myself

03:33and the patients. And so far, I've been able to handle it just fine. And that job showed

03:38me two important things. It helped me understand my limits and it reminded me of what I'm capable

03:43of as well. So when I applied for nursing, the interviewers asked me, are you sure you can

03:50do this? I already knew my answer and I had already done it as well. So right now I'm in

03:57my clinical placements, five weeks at NUH and two weeks in a nursing home. It's tiring for me,

04:03but deeply meaningful as well. Every day, I learned something new, how to care better,

04:09how to communicate better, how to be present for someone in their time of need.

04:16Given my medical condition, as a kid, I went to a hospital quite often for like multiple visits,

04:21different specialties, etc. And I think through those experiences, the healthcare workers who cared

04:26for me really left quite a deep impression for me. I really appreciated how they cared for me

04:30when maybe I wasn't very sure what's going on or something like apprehensive, etc.

04:34And I think that really encouraged me to step in the healthcare sector, to maybe one day

04:39become that person that once inspired me for someone else.

04:44There's still a lot that people don't fully understand about disabilities, especially like

04:48in terms of those that are more invisible. For instance, like in my case, when people see me,

04:52they don't really see anything different, but it's still indeed true that I'm carrying the medical condition.

04:57Yeah.

05:00I think we have to be more open, have more open conversations about it,

05:04discuss about the disability, and through that, like raise awareness.

05:08And with awareness comes understanding. And hopefully, we can build a kinder society in Singapore.

05:14Yeah.

05:16So when a new senior outlet wanted to interview me in 2024, I was honestly a little hesitant.

05:21I didn't love the idea of being put in the spotlight. But over time, I realised that if sharing my story

05:26can help someone see things a little differently, or shift the way people think about disability,

05:31then maybe it's worth it after all. And to me, success isn't about being the loudest or the most impressive,

05:37but about being able to live meaningfully, to make someone's day a little better, whether it's through a kind word,

05:43a quiet moment of care, or just showing up when it matters most.

05:49Maybe for someone else watching this right now, and maybe going through similar things,

05:53I hope to say, like, it's okay to be different, and we don't really have to always live in someone else's mode to be worthy.

06:00And we can just accept ourselves for who we are, and we can still pursue things that we love, and lead a meaningful life.

Living with Cleidocranial Dysostosis as a nursing student | In The Spotlight

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