From the outside, senior Savanna Adrian may seem like your average high school student. She smiles often, takes part in stage crew for Drama Club, enjoys swimming and takes challenging classes. What someone may not know about Savanna is that she was born with a form of Muscular Dystrophy called CMT. CMT is a neuromuscular disease where the communication between the brain and muscles is slow, causing slow reaction time and weak muscles. The disorder affects most of Adrian’s body including her core muscles and the muscles in her feet, causing her to walk differently.

“There’s people who are severely affected by it who are in wheelchairs and then there’s people like me who just have slight muscle weakness,” Adrian said.

The complications caused by the CMT would have resulted in Adrian wearing leg braces, unless she received surgery.
Beginning in eighth grade, Adrian underwent a total of five surgeries on both her feet; two on the left foot and three on the right. This was to fix her overly-high arches and her heels, which turned inward, causing her to walk on the sides of her feet.

“I didn’t really know the effect that the surgeries were going to have. I was really nervous,” Adrian said.

Being on crutches for ten months made everyday activities/actions that she took for granted turn into daily battles.

“Getting around my house was difficult,” Adrian said, “I couldn’t carry things by myself unless it was in a bag. I fell all over the place; it was embarrassing.”

Adrian missed a lot of school, which also took a toll on her social life since she was absent for long periods of time. She found that her journey through recovery closed some friendships and strengthened others.

Along with being absent from school, Adrian went through a substantial amount of physical pain. The bone work, tendon and muscle transfers and insertion of pin in her foot that was later removed caused a painful recovery. But Adrian had support through it all, especially from her family.

“My mom was my biggest supporter. She took care of me and was there for me when I cried because of the pain. My sister and dad were all super supportive,” Adrian said.

Her mother, Lynn Adrian is immensely proud of all that she’s accomplished.

“When Savanna wants to accomplish something, she will go after it. Savanna knew what a long, hard and painful process was ahead of her,” Adrian’s mother said, “she puts in 110% with everything she does.”

Physical pain wasn’t the only struggle that Adrian faced. She felt frustrated with the situation she was in, and felt like she was “left behind” during the long recovery process.

“I was thinking that there was nothing I had done to cause this,” Adrian said, “I was frustrated with people calling me ‘cripple.’ You have no idea how accurate that statement is.”

Now recovered from surgery, Adrian goes about her life with a new perspective and feeling of gratitude.

“I took being able to walk up and down the stairs for granted. I have an extra understanding that makes me more aware of other people’s struggles.”

She learned how to take on challenges step by step and not get discouraged on the bad days. “Hang in there because it gets better,” Adrian said. “Pain is temporary, but the outcome will be forever.”

The battles of the healing process were hard, but Adrian pulled through with a more positive outlook on life and all it’s ups and downs