Ryan students get
lessons in healthy living

By Diane Prokop
Times Staff Writer

Throwing up just once a day is really bad.
That’s what Dr. Elena Pappas told Archbishop Ryan High School students discussing eating disorders as part of last week’s health fair at the school. Bulimia is one of those disorders, typically characterized by the act of purging after eating binges.
The workshops on eating disorders, depression, skin cancer and sexually transmitted diseases — educational sessions led by Frankford Hospital doctors, including John Lewis, a 1995 Ryan graduate — were just part of the health fair. The event, which will be an annual offering, also gave students the opportunity to talk with representatives of local hospitals and universities. They answered the students’ questions about various health-care careers, from nursing to nutrition to veterinary medicine.
Christina Cordero, 17, listened as Anna Marie Forsyth, a nurse and childbirth educator at Holy Redeemer Hospital, showed the Ryan junior photos on a flip-chart and explained how a cesarean-section delivery is performed.
Cordero, who would like to pursue a career as a doctor or nurse, said she found the health fair very informative.
That’s the reason the event was put together, explained Gerard Donahue, a Ryan science teacher and moderator of the school’s Health Careers Club.
The club’s 50 participants meet monthly for presentations from nurses, pharmacists, physical therapists and doctors. The teens also "shadow" these professionals on the job at local hospitals, including Holy Redeemer, Frankford-Bucks, Einstein and Nazareth.
"There were so many students interested in health careers that they couldn’t all fit in the shadowing club," Donahue said.
Club members also helped organize the fair.
According to club president Amya Cervino, 17, students made lots of phone calls to doctors who specialize in treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, depression, weight problems and maternity issues, among other medical specialties, and also reached out to colleges for information.
The senior, who wanted to be an emergency-room nurse, learned something at the fair as well. In fact, after hearing about the nurse anesthetist programs at Frankford and Nazareth hospitals, Cervino decided she’d like to follow that career path.
According to Donahue, the student event coordinators even wanted to make sure that pet health was among the occupational topics. Representatives from the SPCA, Town and Country Kennel, and schools with programs in veterinary medicine also were part of the program.
"The health fair is for every member of the family and stimulates looking for a career," Donahue said.
The day included discussion groups on topics like depression, skin cancer, sexually transmitted diseases and eating disorders.
About 30 students attended the eating-disorder discussion, 10 of whom were boys. While females compose the majority of patients treated for eating disorders, Dr. Pappas said, about 10 percent of patients are men.
According to the Academy for Eating Disorders, athletes in certain sports are particularly at high risk for eating disorders, especially female gymnasts, ice skaters, dancers and swimmers. Male athletes, especially those in sports like wrestling, bodybuilding, crew, running, cycling and football, also are susceptible while trying to maintain weight levels.
Pappas surmised that a few of the students involved in the fourth-period discussion may have been bulimic, while others perhaps know someone who is.
She told students that the hydrochloric acid found in our stomachs is strong enough to degrade leather. It can be destructive over time to your esophagus, tongue, and the enamel on your teeth, she told students who attended her session.
"Not to mention electrolyte imbalances — I guarantee that if you are vomiting once a day your potassium can be dangerously low," Pappas said.
The school’s director of guidance, Jerry O’Connell, recommended that students struggling with the disorder should get help.
"It’s very difficult to do it on your own," he said.
Across the hall, several students participating in the discussion about depression asked about bipolar disorder, as well as information about Friends Hospital and what path they needed to follow in school for a career in the field, said science teacher Deirdre Benjamin.
Donahue, the health careers club moderator, already is making plans for next year’s fair, lining up both schools and vendors. That event will include discussions of type 2 diabetes. The condition, once known as adult-onset or non-insulin dependent diabetes, is preventable but on the rise because of the so-called obesity epidemic.
A significant moment in last week’s seminar came when Donahue announced that Ryan senior Richard Coyle had been selected to receive a $7,500 scholarship from Einstein Hospital. Coyle had participated in Einstein’s two-week Discover Health Care program during the summer.
Coyle, who wants to be a speech therapist, hugged Ellen Goldberg, Einstein’s coordinator of volunteers, when the announcement came over the loud speaker.
According to Goldberg, program participants spent six of their 10 days in clinical areas and shadow professionals. The remaining days of the program were devoted to writing resumes and learning how to prepare for job interview.
The students also were eligible to apply for three scholarships. The Ryan senior received the top award.
"Richard’s desire and confidence — the way he presents himself, and his caring — just shined," Goldberg said. ••
Reporter Diane Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dprokop@phillynews.com