Brittany Mitchell's Story

By Brittany Mitchell

Brittany Mitchell, age 18, is one of this year's four Robert Guthrie PKU Scholarship winners. The first-born of non-identical twins (her sister does not have PKU), Brittany graduated in the top 3% of her high school class. She is a young woman with many talents as well as great determination and an infectious zest for life.

I was born on May 1, 1984 in Dallas, Texas (which was under a tornado warning at the time!). Even though it was six weeks before my estimated arrival, other than a little jaundice I was thought to be quite healthy. However, at ten days old, I was diagnosed with classical PKU at Children's Medical Center-Dallas. This is the clinic I've always visited for annual check ups.

Along with Children's Medical Center, my family has been so helpful with my diet. My father works as a computer network engineer, and my mother left the insurance business to become a full-time mom when I was young. I appreciate them for the sacrifices they made to encourage me in my diet, which was a struggle, especially when I was little. My parents let me try a number of low-protein foods so that there would always be some variety for me. They took me to parties where local PKU kids were, and they always tried cooking or purchasing new foods to see if there was something new out there for me.

On top of everything, I have a twin sister, Tiffany, who does not have PKU. We are as different as night and day, yet we enjoy each other's company most of the time. She acts as the "PKU police" sometimes but I appreciate her, as well as my parents, for looking out for me. Tiffany and I have a special relationship, especially being twins. We are a lot closer than other sisters, yet we also fight a bit more. Tiffany has always been there to slap my hand when I reached for that extra French fry, and even though I did not appreciate it at the time, I am thankful for how much she looks out for me.

At times, it has been difficult trying to remain on such a strict diet because I feel like all I do is eat the same vegetables and fruits over and over again, while drinking formula everyday. When I was a child, I did not like sharing the fact that I had PKU with other students at school because every time I explained I got the "Why can't you eat ...?" question, like it was my choice not to eat their favorite meals like pizza, hamburgers, and chicken. I try to take in about 12 exchanges (180 mg phenylalanine), each day, and I drink 32 ounces of Phenyl-Free 2. By now, I know about how much phenylalanine is in certain foods so I know how much I can have.

If I don't know if a certain food is high or not, I do not eat it. I still like eating kids' cereals for breakfast like Froot Loops, Corn Pops, or Trix with milk (formula). When I get tired of that, I make low-protein pancakes, waffles, or I prepare some of the low protein breakfast foods, like bagels. While I'm in school, I usually don't eat much at lunch, just a sack lunch with a fruit cup, apple chips, and some type of candy. When I get home, I drink my second glass of milk with a salad sometimes. Dinner is usually comprised of low protein pasta and some type of vegetable and fruit. Sometimes when I have a higher breakfast, lunch, or snack, I have to go easy on the phes when it is dinner time. I usually eat fruits like apples or applesauce when I have no more phes left for the day. My parents pay for all of my food, whether it was ordered from a dietary food company, or bought at the local grocery store, and they are reimbursed for 80% of the cost of my formula (less the annual deductible). My dad's company is self-insured and we are thankful they have agreed to cover my Phenyl-Free 2.

I prepare a majority of my meals myself, sometimes to my dismay. My mother said that if I cannot make my meals at home, then she cannot send me off to college and expect me to make them there.

Fortunately, I have always done very well in school. I have always been very excited to share with my dietitian how well school was going. In middle school I took all Honors classes, as well as being involved at school as a cheerleader, a member of the basketball team, band, and student council. As I moved on to high school, I became a drill team member for four years, as well as a class officer, while remaining in Honors and Advanced Placement courses to acquire a G.P.A. of 4.28. Organizations like Student Council, Light Brigade, National Beta Club, and Thespians caught my attention for a while, but what I really put a lot of effort into were Actors Have Heart (a community service theatre group), National Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society, and Academic Decathlon. Outside of academics, I enjoy dancing and drawing even though I rarely find time for either one of them. Drill team has given me the opportunity to dance more, but I did not have room in my academic schedule for an art class. My true interest, even though I have yet to really learn about it, is weather. I have set a career goal of earning a Bachelor of Science degree at Texas A&M University in Meteorology. I have wanted to attend Texas A&M for many years. After visiting, I was sure that College Station was the place for me. As far as meteorology, it does not matter to me whether or not I work on television. I do think it is a good idea since people on television have an audience and therefore an influence. If I were to work on television, I could organize or help in a lot of charity as well as work in the medium that can promote it. Although television is very enticing, I also have a long-term goal of working for NASA, but all of this will have to wait until I graduate so I can see what opportunities present themselves. Of course, to go along with meteorology, before I leave college I plan on doing my share of storm chasing. My personal goals are to grow with the changes that college brings while also maintaining my morals and respect for life. Everything else will hopefully fall into place, and if not, I hope that I will use the knowledge I have to improvise.

Every day, I find myself explaining PKU to another classmate or friend. Most of my friends had never heard of it despite the few weeks I know we spent on genetic disorders in Biology class. Most of them prefer to call it PKU, because they would not dare try to pronounce Phenylketonuria. Of course, there are a few friends who butcher it every time that they have a new pronunciation nowhere near close to correct, and there are the others, whenever it comes up try desperately to say it yet mispronounce the same part every time. The bulk of them call it "that thing" you have, and others remember that they can simply say PKU. Although all of my acquaintances are not aware of my PKU, I have a large base of friends who do know and they always take that into consideration. The friends that I have known the longest always have something for me to eat, and there are some friends who I have known a short time who surprise me with their thoughtfulness. Most of my friends hear the name and a brief explanation of PKU and I have already lost them. I have found that all they need to know is that I cannot eat what they consider the best foods on earth (i.e. pizza, burgers, barbecue, etc.), and if they bring a fruit or veggie tray I will be happy. As a younger child in school, I did not come across problems until our individual classes had little parties.

At lunch, all of the kids brought their own lunch because it was cool to show off your lunch box. When there were class parties though, my mother always made sure I had something special, too. I greatly appreciated this, yet it opened the door for thousands of questions from all of my curious classmates.

Over the years, I have learned that I am going to run into curious peers, and that my peers will have more questions as I get older. Fortunately, I know how to handle that situation and I enjoy informing people about PKU. I am comfortable with it now, and I am beginning to run into more people who have actually heard of PKU before they met someone with it.

I do not feel like my diet is something that I have to do, I feel like it is just something that I do. Fortunately, all of my friends and family think that since I eat so healthfully that I will out live them and remain in such good shape. I think PKU has been good for me because it has forced me to learn how to take care of myself, which I think non-PKU kids might not learn as well. That is extremely important to me because I will be leaving for college this fall, and I will not make it if I cannot take care of myself. I think that is why some students move back home and transfer schools, because they were not well prepared. I am determined to be ready for what I can, and have the knowledge to deal with the choices I will be given for what I cannot foresee. I would not say that there were negative aspects of PKU, at least not for me. I try to take everything as a lesson, even though in the moment I may not say that. PKU is a struggle; it is a different way to live. The foods that people eat are an important factor in one's life, but that does not mean that PKU is, or should be used as an excuse. At first I thought having PKU was annoying and not fair, especially since my twin sister did not have it. And then I thought of it as a challenge. Now I view PKU as the way I live. It is not foreign to me, it is me.

Overall, I feel very fortunate to have PKU. When I was younger, I used to think I was a member of a special club that no one else knew about. Of course, with adolescence and the responsibility of my diet, at times, I would resent having PKU when the rest of my family, especially Tiffany, did not. After time, I realized that PKU has been a tool of discipline. I look around at my school and friends and see that I have a strong hold on my life. I think some of that comes from the hard work I do to stay on the diet. I am glad to have been given the challenge of PKU and that I have used it to better my situation.

I feel very fortunate to have parents willing to sacrifice for me, and a sister watching out for me. I think what made growing up with PKU easier was a variety of foods and an encouraging surrounding. It is not easy to grow up with PKU, and PKU kids need extra help. A variety of foods (homemade, or specially prepared by dietary food companies) is always helpful. But most important, I suggest the whole family be encouraging and get involved in PKU. With time, PKU will not seem like such a big obstacle. It will be the way you live, who you are, and hopefully it will have a positive influence on your life.