CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte-area college student found inspiration for her studies in an unusual place: At the hospital.
Isabella McCray was a child when doctors diagnosed a chronic and difficult disease, and now she’s studying so that she can work to make a difference at the very place that helped her, Atrium Health Levine Children's Hospital.
For McCray, putting on her lab coat and stethoscope means everything.
"It's an honor, it makes me feel like I'm part of not only the chronic illness community but also someone who cares for the chronic illness community," McCray said.
She was just 11 when she was diagnosed with lupus. She said she went through so much and got so much help that she wants to do the same for others -- she’s now in college to become a nurse.
The 20-year-old has been a patient since she was just a kid. She said she’s forever indebted to those who cared for her.
"When I was diagnosed with lupus and everything that I went through and everything I experienced, I took a very long time in the hospital with a lot of nurses and doctors and just the care and the compassion that they showed me, I've never felt that before, only in a parent," McCray said. "So that inspired me to become a nurse and work at Levine’s."
She’s currently a junior at Wingate University studying to be a nurse, hoping to be doing rounds at Levine Children's Hospital in the near future.
Because lupus is a chronic illness, she still struggles with it.
"Although you have bad days, you don’t let it defeat you," she said. "I am taking it one day at a time."
She's approaching good and bad days with one very big goal in sight, one she said will make it all worthwhile.
"It means that I’m not just the sick girl," she said. "I am someone and I am someone who -- although, is a lupus warrior -- I'm also a nursing student and a daughter."
If all goes as planned, she’s hoping to be at Levine Children's Hospital working as a nurse as early as next year, and will graduate in 2025.
Contact Michelle Boudin at mboudin@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.