I am:

~Jacqueline Kerrigan

~16-years-old

~the 2nd of 5 siblings

I have:

~two adopted siblings

~two siblings with autism

~two dogs

I love animals and kids

I have spent over 100 hours shadowing and interning at:

~Emergency veterinary hospitals

~A pediatric dentist

~Temple Grandin’s Equine Center with the providers and horses

~Cheyenne Mountain Zoo caring for the goats and educating visitors

For over ten years, my family has worked with amazing:

~ABA

~Occupational

~Physical

~Speech Therapists

These providers often engaged each of us to learn, help, and support each other.

I have learned to:

~love positive reinforcement

~modify behavior and anticipate what is next

~lower current anxiety – for myself and others.

My complicated medical history has motivated me to help other kids feel like they can get through challenges with a smile! 

When I was 13:

~My trachea had collapsed 90%

~I underwent a 12-hour airway surgery in Boston

~My vocal cords became paralyzed

~My esophagus became so tight that I did not swallow for almost a year

~I used an NG tube to eat for 6 months

It was a challenging time, and I am still learning to cope with these memories and thrive!

My hope is to create something beautiful from My medical challenges with #Scrubsquad

I wish:

~I had been able to communicate my feelings, worries, and questions before these many surgeries and procedures so I would not have been left with so much trauma.

~someone would have sat down with me to drawn, created, painted, and pretend played every step of what I should expect.

~I had been able to see, feel, and hear…, the tools, the robots, the computers, the lights…that I was going to experience during and after surgery.

THIS IS ME: