Reply to From teen drug user to long-term recovery to recovery advocate to medical school to suicide.

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[quote=Anonymous]This was an incredibly sad story making it's way around the medical twitter community today, and worth a bit of a read.

https://griceconnect.com/2020/04/21/leigh-sundem-md-georgia-southern-memorial-scholarship-fund/

Leigh Sundem made some bad choices in middle school. Drug and alcohol abuse leading her to the point she ran into a police car while driving and was sent to an intensive two-year addiction treatment. She worked fast-food jobs and dreamed of something bigger. She spoke on CSPAN about her journey and gave speeches to others about recovery. She went to college, summa cum laude, blew away her MCATS, and got into medical school with a desire to become an orthopedic surgeon. But when the time came for matching, no program would admit her given her drug history. Undaunted she tried again the next match, this time for emergency medicine, but again she was denied. Last March she tried a third time but was turned down again. After that, she took her own life.

A memorial fund for scholarships to other deserving students has been set up in her name.  https://www.gofundme.com/f/leigh-sundem-memorial-scholarship-fund

While I too think this is an example of a system that is far too rigid, I felt the need to share this story as there many people here who scoff at the idea of "this is going down on your permanent record". For many careers, what you do as a teenager can have an impact on your future plans.

[img]https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/47477836_1587351867923590_r.jpeg[/img][/quote]

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