Illnesses, disorders and diseases are some of the many physical things that people can get that can affect and change a persons’ ability to do a certain task others find simple, especially in school.

Some people have conditions that others may not even know about.

Focusing in class can be easy for some, but for sophomore Dillon Ramsey, it can be rather difficult without taking the medication he needs for the condition he has.

Ramsey has Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). ADD is a condition that affects concentration, learning and memory, according to memory-improvement-tips.com. It is also a disorder that occurs mostly in children, and out of children, mostly males.

“If I don’t take my medicine, then it makes things harder to focus on,” Ramsey said.

“When the doctor told me that I had ADD, he explained it to me as having a racecar mind that is turbo-charged,” Ramsey said.

Sophomore Jimmy Painter has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Painter thinks that having ADHD makes focusing hard too.

“I can’t focus in class and it makes me have a small attention span,” Painter said.

He also has asthma. It mostly affects his athletics.

“In soccer, I get short of breath and can’t run as long as the other players,” Painter said. “It is just hard to breathe.”

To make sure he can breathe well, Painter has to make sure he has one thing.

“I have to make sure I have my inhaler, especially before practice,” Painter said.

School Nurse Summer Abbott has to do things daily to make sure that the students are taken care of when they have illnesses.

“I have to make sure they have the medication they need throughout the day and that I am able to contact parents with concerns,” Abbott said. “I have to let them know if they need to see the doctor based on my findings.”

Not only do students have some conditions that some do not know about, but Chapman also has teachers that do, too.

Integrated Business Applications teacher Michele Smith is a colon cancer survivor.

When she was diagnosed, she was absent.

“Cancer took me out of school for six months because I had stage three cancer and had to take chemo,” Smith said.

Being a cancer survivor, Smith said she has to eat right and exercise, but the chemo also caused her to be very sensitive to the cold, both internal and external.

Colon cancer is the second leading cause in cancer related deaths according to ccalliance.org.

“The doctor said that I almost died twice,” Smith said. “The first time was because my tumor almost erupted and the second time, my chemo almost killed me.”

Although many students and teachers at Chapman have illnesses, some go unnoticed and some do not.

The way people treat others after that person has been diagnosed can sometimes change, but the way the person acts can sometimes change too.

“My husband said I have changed because I am now sassy and straightforward,” Smith said. “I am also living life to the fullest.”