Markus Bachman's Story

A backstory: when I was born, I was born with a rare condition called Laryngotracheoesophageal (LTE) Cleft Type IV.

At birth, it was discovered my trachea and esophagus had not developed into their two separate tubes. Instead, it was one common tube down to my right lung. I essentially had that slit in half, with one part for my breathing and the other for eating. I had a tracheostomy put in (a hole in the neck) to help me breathe. In my stomach, it was noticed that my stomach was about the size of an almond. I also had very bad acid reflux (GERD) and was missing my cardiac sphincter (essentially a trap door in the esophagus that keeps stomach content from coming up to the mouth).

I had my tracheostomy removed and stitched closed when I was eight years old.

Through various blood tests done as a teenager, it was found that I had a weak immune system (immunocompromised). This left me more vulnerable to getting illnesses, and for those illnesses to be exponentially worse than if it were a normal person. Since the discovery, I have been taking a weekly immunity-boosting medicine. With this, and by the grace of God, I have been healthier and better able to deal with certain illnesses.

Due to poor health and surgeries, most of my high school years included homebound services through the school district.

My damaged and severely infected right lung was entirely removed my senior year. Come graduation, I had a decision to make. I had not been in a classroom for over two and a half years. I ached to sit at a desk, listening to an instructor lecture, talking to other students. Completing my college 100% online would have been the safest option for me to attain my education, but I missed being in a classroom.

Attending school in person, for me, involved real risk. I chose to take a leap of faith and step back into the classroom.

Questions arose: Would I be OK? Would my one lung be able to handle this?

Where the leap of faith came in was the fact that I was putting myself out there in the community. I would be willingly exposing myself to everything going around the university. I knew full well the latest illness sweeping campus could put me in the hospital.

However, there is only so much I can do to prevent illness without getting paranoid. Yes, I have health issues, but I still just wanted to live life. It’s because of my limitations that I had to just trust in God. It would have to be by His hand that I would be able to safely attend classes in person again.

That first week of being on campus, I remember feeling a tangle of emotions. Joy, shock, nervousness, gratefulness, excited, and a little terrified, to name just a handful of emotions.

So many thoughts ran through me. Some like, “Yippee!” “It feels so good to be back.,” “Where is (name a place on campus)?” “I sure hope I don’t end up in the hospital due to getting sick at school.,” “I hope I don’t get sick…,” and “What am I doing?! Should I be subjecting my one lung to this?”

As tough as it was at first, within the first couple weeks, my doubts and nervousness had mostly melted away. Between my interactions in the classroom and outside it, I knew in my mind and heart that I was supposed to attend University of Northwestern. The atmosphere, the culture, the sense of community felt homey and inclusive. I felt accepted into the community, despite my challenges.

Today, I am so incredibly grateful that I stayed with UNW after graduating high school. If I had not stayed with UNW, I don’t know where I would be. By taking a chance—a leap of faith—of attending in person, I found a school community that felt inviting. The graciousness and understanding of instructors and peers has been another result of the leap of faith. To have professors who worry more about a student’s health than their uncompleted homework assignments, quizzes, or exams has been a blessing. The ability to connect at a more personal level with the professors is something I think I would have missed.

Was doing this change challenging? Yes, absolutely. I had my doubts, fears, and worries. However, God has alleviated those fears. In its place, God has put a sense of peace and confirmation in me that I am at the right place for my education.

A couple life passages of mine are John 9:1-7 and 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. I found both of these during difficult times of my life, and they changed me. These passages have helped to reorient my thinking. It helped me understand that there was a reason I was experiencing what I was and that it would eventually end.

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