Pen Beneath The Bush

An Angel's Song (Pokemon)

My name is Max Maple. I have a genetic skin disorder named Progeria which means my body ages at a fast rate. I age quicker than my parents and sister combined. The doctors say that I only got a few months left to live. My sister's wedding is exactly three days time. I hope that the doctors are wrong: I don't want to miss May's wedding. My father pulls on a strong smile, but I know that he's stressed.

My sister is working towards being a top coordinator. She goes all around the world to enter contests. If she wins, she gets a ribbon and if she has enough ribbons she can take part in grand festivals. It was through her journey was where she met Ash. I was going to go with them. My parents thought it was an excellent idea. Sadly the doctors checked me out and found my knees had swollen up. I had to stay at home because the doctors believed that it could make my arthritis worse. I stayed at home with my mother and we helped each otherer with day-to-day activities.

My father is a gym leader. People from all walks of life go to challenge him. If they manage to defeat them, he'll reward them with a badge that can help them enter the pokemon leagues I watch on TV. I know that he works very hard at the gym to keep all of us happy. I don't get to see him very much because many people want to challenge him because the Hoenn League will be starting very soon. My father's pokemon, Slaking is very lazy. He's a beast in battle even though he loafs about all the time. I think the challengers would lose if Slaking was much more active. Slaking reminds me of May when she was younger. All she would do is sleep, eat and play with her dolls.

I'd love to go on my own journey one day. I'm old enough to get my trainers licence, but the doctors are worried that other cities in Hoenn may not have the appropriate medication for me. They feel that the demands would be too much for my frail body to handle. I'm prescribed chansey eggs because they have all the nutrients I need. I have a very small appetite, so whenever Ash and May come over, they always argue over who gets my left overs.

That's not the only medication I receive, I take daily nutrient supplements in case I can't get any chansey eggs. The doctors say that the supplements are just as effective as the chansey eggs. I prefer the eggs because they're much more tastier. Once a week, my mother takes me to hospital for my hydrotherapy. Sometimes when my mother can't make it, Ash and May come along with me. It's really fun and it also helps enable movement. Things have been tough for all of us, but I know we can all pull through this together. Ash and May are going to have a great wedding and I'm going to be their best man. I even wrote a song that I'm going to sing for the speech. I've been practising on my guitar. I know I won't get stage fright, unlike May.

Mother said she had a fairly normal pregnancy with me. She told me that the only major problems she had was kidney infections. My parents were concerned that I wasn't gaining any weight as a child and the doctors helped along the way. After a series of tests I was diagnosed with Progeria when I was a toddler. May said I had very tight skin as if someone had wrapped cling-film on me. My skin lacked elasticity which was something expected of an elderly person. Since my diagnosis, we've tried to live a normal life as much as possible. My parents treated me with kindness just how they treated May.

Some people ask how I deal with all the stares. I knew that I looked different to the other kids: I'm bold, wrinkled and scaly. Some people with Progeria decide to raise awareness of the disease through the media. Because of those brave people, I don't get stared at so often. I do get picked on by Jessie and James who work for Team Rocket, but I'm not going to let their silly comments get me down. There's no treatment for Progeria. Heart disease and a stroke can kill me, so I decided I was going to make the most of my life. I'm eighteen going on a hundred. According to the statistics, I shouldn't be here, the average life expectancy for someone with Progeria was thirteen.

When I was a kid I used to wonder why I looked the way I did. Why did May have hair and I didn't? Why do I have to wear glasses, but May doesn't? Why can't I eat as much as May? I eventually learned all the answers as I got older. I'm still tiny. Many people assume I'm still a baby on the outside, but on the inside I'm old. I would personally describe myself as an energetic and intelligent eighteen-year-old boy with a big heart. Many people are amazed of how smart I am, including May and Ash. I liked how Ash and May don't look at me as a person and not a disease. They embrace my uniqueness. They give me the courage to stand up for myself when someone makes fun of me.