# @mynyit on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/BpSePYyhxMo
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/19750938-mynyit-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/0767f078a0.jpg
- **Posted:** 2018-10-23T20:13:59.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** New York Tech (@mynyit) — https://gondola.cc/mynyit

## Caption

Student Profile: In amazing story of survival and perseverance. #NYIT  Student Shelby Caban (M.S. Physician Assistant Studies ‘19) in her own words describes the health obstacles she faced growing up and how they led her to wanting to become a #physicianassistant assistant (PA). You have a remarkable story of survival. Can you talk a little bit about your background?
I was born with a rare heart disease called restrictive cardiomyopathy, which ultimately put me into end-stage heart failure at only ten years old. When I was diagnosed, I was immediately placed on the national organ transplant list because the only way to keep me alive was for me to receive a new heart. I was forced to live in the hospital for two months waiting for my new heart. My experience as a patient at such a young age inspired me to go into the medical field. It was surreal to me at first, but my new home intrigued me. I would ask my doctors and nurses so many questions. I knew from then on that this field was where I belonged. Unfortunately, nine years later as a sophomore in college, I was diagnosed with a rare form of post-transplant #Lymphoma, a known complication of the immunosuppression medications I take on a daily basis. I was only 19 years old when I was faced with my second life-threatening challenge—cancer. Undergoing almost a year of chemotherapy, and once again being hospitalized, further sparked my interest in the medical field. I knew that being a PA was what I was meant to do. After being a patient in a bed for so long I am now able to be on the other side of the patient’s bed with a unique perspective one would only understand being a patient themselves. 
What is next for you?
I would like to be a physician assistant in a pediatric subspecialty. I am most inspired by my personal health experiences as a heart transplant recipient and as a cancer patient. My overall goal is to make a difference in the lives of sick kids.
People are often surprised to find out that I also want to write a book. I’ve had this goal since I was a child. When I graduate from PA school that will be the next dream that I hope to achieve. Full story at nyit.edu/box

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## Tags

lymphoma, physicianassistant, nyit

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