Calhoun McC

Hello, my name is Calhoun McCullough. Growing up I was fortunate enough to have a fun childhood with many role models. As I have aged, two exemplars that continue to stick out to me are my grandfathers. Both of them are people I aspire to be like when I grow up, because of their many great characteristics and the ways they have lived their lives. Part of the way they lived their lives was pursuing medicine, which also happens to be what I am working towards. This is largely in part due to them. My urge towards becoming a doctor has only been reaffirmed in past years. I've always felt a huge amount of gratitude towards various doctors that helped guide me back to health, and I know I want to make others feel the same way. Another experience that solidified my career path was when I diagnosed myself with a rare condition. My whole life I had seen doctors about a condition where I couldn't burp, and none of them could correctly diagnose me. One day I was doing some research on my own, and found a small online article about a condition called R-CPD, that only a few thousand of people had been able to identify with. After more research, I found a doctor at the Medical University of Charleston SC that was doing a panel for this condition, who also offered treatment. I ended up going to her a few months after this discovery to get a shot of botox in my throat, and within a week after I was completely normal and felt great. This entire experience only heightened my interest in helping others through medicine.