My name is Porter Bischoff. I’m the oldest of five siblings, and when I was growing up, my family moved around a lot for my parents’ work and school. We ended up living in about seven different houses. Moving so often was difficult, but it helped me become more comfortable with change.

In addition to moving frequently, I experienced several medical challenges from a young age that have molded me to become who I am today. When I was two years old, I was playing on the stage inside a church building. As I was frolicking around, I fell off the stage and landed on my feet. After some testing in the ER, we discovered that the impact of the landing had shot up my spine and exploded all the bones in my left ear into a thousand pieces. As a result, I became completely deaf in my left ear.

During the summer before my fifth-grade year, my family was living in northern Utah. Leading up to my first football season, I was throwing up every Sunday night and had crazy migraines. The weekend before football started, I also got an ear infection in my good ear, which was scary since I didn’t want to go deaf in my good ear. Going to the doctor, we found out I had lost 15 pounds. They sent me to Primary Children’s Hospital, finding that my blood sugar was through the roof. The doctor diagnosed me with diabetes. My pancreas was broken, and it will be forever until someone invents a bionic pancreas or comes up with a cure.

I like to joke that the year I got diabetes, I turned into an old man. I lost a lot of childhood through the process of managing the illness, but I’ve also become more mature. I learned that diabetes isn’t going away. Not today. Though it’s hard, I take some insulin, have a milkshake, and move on.

Three months after my diabetes diagnosis, I was running up the stairs of an outdoor portable at school to get my insulin before lunch. I tripped on the step, and I fell hard on the sharp corner of one of the stairs, which stuck underneath my rib cage. I turned instantly pale and, very much in pain, I hobbled into the secretary’s office. My mom came to drive me home. She gave me some ibuprofen to stop the pain, but it also stops blood from clotting. Little did we know the effects of the ibuprofen would exacerbate my injury.

I went home, fell asleep on the couch, and when I got up to walk around, my mom noticed that I was walking strangely. I couldn’t walk or even stand upright for long, and I passed out. My mom took me to a nearby clinic to get a CT scan. The nurse turned on the scan and then immediately turned it off, her face white as a ghost. She ran out to find the doctor. For a few moments, I lay there underneath the machine, waiting for someone to tell us what was going on. When finally, the nurse came back in, she said, “The helicopter will be here in seven minutes. You’ll need to go to Primary Children’s Hospital.”

We found out that my spleen had been severely ruptured, like a cantaloupe dropped from a high counter. I was bleeding internally, and the doctors said I had a category 4 ruptured spleen. According to the article my dad Googled, I had an 80% chance of dying. Regardless, I had a feeling that I was going to make it. I don’t remember much from the helicopter ride, but I remember the hospital in my lucid state: bright white room, medical professionals running around frantically, me lying helpless on the bed. I was in the ICU for a scary couple of days.

Because I am diabetic and don’t have a working pancreas, the doctor didn’t want to operate, otherwise my immune system would be shot, and I’d be forced to live in a bubble for the rest of my life. So, to allow my spleen to heal on its own, the doctor gave me strict instructions to stay off my feet for three months. No physical activity whatsoever. After a month and a half, they let me go back to class. But other than that, I was confined to a sitting position at home. As a 10-year-old, all I wanted to do was run around and play. But abiding by the doctor’s orders, and with some great luck, I was able to heal fully.

Other medical issues have popped up over the years, but I’ve made it through. I consider my survival and healing to be a miracle, and I’m grateful for the support system I have in my family and friends. We grew closer as a family through these experiences, and in this unexpected way, I developed maturity and was able to start becoming the person I want to be. Also, overcoming all these health trials gives me the confidence that I can do anything I set my mind to. I’m here still, and I almost wasn’t. So, I want to make the most of my life.

Because of my experiences, I’ve had tender, almost sacred moments with healthcare providers that have led me to be healthy. From a young age, I decided that I’d work hard in school and prepare myself for future opportunities to help patients like me. I took honors classes and worked hard to keep up my GPA so I could earn a scholarship. My family often jokes about how smart I am. But I don’t think I’m all that smart — I just work hard.

I was awarded a three-quarter tuition scholarship to the University of Utah, but for some reason, it didn’t feel right for me to go there. Surprisingly to some, I decided to come to Utah Valley University (UVU) on my own dime, and I’m grateful I did. I was lucky to receive the National Science Foundation (NSF) grant that helps students get through school and get paid for research. Being part of NSF, I get to design my own research project. I’m working with Dr. Britt Wyatt and Dr. Josh Premo, and we’re studying how having a medical condition can lead to developing an interest in the STEM field. That research topic, of course, relates to my own life story. We’re trying to figure out if there is a trend, and how we can spark medical patients’ interest in science sooner.

The plan is to reach out to hospitals with suggestions for how to help young patients learn the science of medicine from a young age. For example, healthcare workers could give patients stress balls in the shape of a human heart or teach them the basics about drawing blood.

UVU gave me the opportunity to participate in the Station1 fellowship. Station1 is a fellowship program focused on producing ethical and sustainable solutions through integrating social sciences with biotechnology. The company I’ve been working with from Station1 offered me an internship for the spring, which is exciting. I’ve come a long way. At the beginning, they wanted me to learn everything I could about certain organs that I didn’t understand at all, let alone at a cellular level. But I’ve been working hard to learn.

During my life and time at UVU, I’ve discovered that it might take someone 10 minutes to learn what will take me three hours, or vice versa. But I truly believe that we can all learn everything we want to learn. I could become the next Einstein. It might have taken him only twenty years to make a crazy discovery, and it might take me a million years, but I can gain incredible amounts of knowledge, too. I believe it all depends on how hard I work.

After I graduate with my bachelor’s degree, I’ll hopefully attend medical school. Because I enjoy science so much and would love to spend time in a lab (perhaps trying to discover a cure for diabetes), teach medical students, as well as work with patients, I’m aiming for an MD-PhD degree.

Being at UVU is so unique in the fact that every teacher wants you to succeed here. It comes down to so much more than just a grade. The teachers are passionate and they'll do everything they can to help you along. So, ask them. Reach out. There are so many cool opportunities on campus, whether that's a scholarship, grant, or internship opportunity. There's something for everybody, and at UVU you can be as successful as anyone else in the world.