SAN ANTONIO, Texas (KVIA) \u2014 An El Paso woman now living in San Antonio, Texas, is gearing up to embark on a new adventure in the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n
Twenty-four-year-old Mia Gonzalez is a native El Pasoan who graduated from Montwood High School. She earned her bachelor\u2019s degree from St. Mary\u2019s University and her master\u2019s degree from UT Health San Antonio. She was recently accepted into a five-year program at the Brunel Medical School in London.<\/p>\n
She wants to become a physician specializing in neonatal genetics with a focus on neurological disorders. Neonatal genetics identifies inherited conditions in newborns.<\/p>\n
Her field of study is personal for her family. In 2012, Mia’s mother, Amy Gonzalez, was diagnosed with ALS after becoming very ill and gradually losing strength in her arms. Just one day after being diagnosed, Amy died. Mia was just 10 years old at the time. Mia’s grandfather also died of ALS.<\/p>\n
ALS, or Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease, is a progressive nervous system disease that destroys cells in the spinal cord and the brain. Over time, the cells die and stop sending signals to muscles, resulting in severe muscle weakness and eventual loss of movement, speech and breathing.<\/p>\n
During college, Gonzalez also started experiencing ALS symptoms of her own. Just three years ago, she received a positive ALS diagnosis.<\/p>\n
“I broke down on the staircase, and I called my brother’s name out, and I just started sobbing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s currently undergoing a clinical trial. She said some of the symptoms she lives with affect her day-to-day life.<\/p>\n
“I have a lot of shortness of breath. Or also, like, it’s kind of hard to walk downstairs. Breathing is difficult at times, but I have an amazing team of doctors,” she said.<\/p>\n
Her ALS diagnosis propelled her to be positive and pursue her passions. She\u2019s motivated to pursue medical school to help others who\u2019ve received a similar diagnosis.<\/p>\n
“I want to help them out and make sure that they get into clinical trials and live a happy, long life so that way they don’t ever have to face anything like my family did,” Gonzalez said.<\/p>\n
Gonzalez hopes that her journey of living with ALS shows others that a medical diagnosis doesn\u2019t limit you. She wants to make her mother proud. <\/p>\n
The support of her family has carried her through this difficult time.<\/p>\n
Gonzalez said she decided to study overseas because of accommodations the college offered her. She would like to return to the United States and practice medicine here.<\/p>\n