UC Blue Ash student manages terminal illness with goal of inspiring others

CF can block airways and cause lung damage. Velazco says her lung capacity has decreased as she has aged, especially once she reached her teenage years. She is still active and able to easily get around, but she will likely need a lung transplant in the next three to four years.

As part of her daily therapy sessions, Velazco has to do airway clearance with a vest-like device that vibrates the chest to help clear the mucus that consistently builds up with CF.

“My everyday therapies are a lot,” she says. “It takes up a lot of time and sometimes I have to sacrifice studying or sacrifice not doing a treatment or something else that I need to do.”

She has also been admitted to the hospital while in the program, but she still found ways to participate in class activities.

“Sydney is a focused and serious student,” says Burroughs. “She was in the hospital but insisted on presenting with her classmates for a remote research presentation they had prepared together. She was committed to her group and did an excellent job presenting, even from a hospital room.”

Velazco notes that she is grateful for the treatments she receives through the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center CF Clinic, and for the financial support she received from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which provided Velazco with funding for books and certain equipment that students need for the program.

She also credits the support of her professors and fellow classmates with helping her to stay on track for her degree.

“We’re all like a family here. I’ve made many, many friends and everyone is so welcoming,” says Velazco. “All the instructors have been great; they help in any way they can. If you need a patient (to treat) or need to meet a certain requirement, they’re going to try to help you.”

Through all the challenges she maintains an extremely positive attitude, an infectious smile, and a sense of determination that lets you know she will not stop pursuing her goals. She already has a job lined up as a dental hygienist and will begin her career after she passes the national licensing exam. She also wants to save enough money to eventually open her own dental practice.

Velazco says she wants to share her story to help others who have any type of serious health condition that might make them feel limited, or that they can’t pursue goals. 

“I want to be able to inspire others like me,” she says. “I would love for someone to, you know, just try. I think sometimes having a terminal illness, you think that you can't do normal things in life. I want to show that I am doing that. You have the opportunity to do that too.”