FIND US ONLINE: DailyNorthShore.com
SATURDAY MARCH 28 | SUNDAY MARCH 29 2020
SUNDAY BREAKFAST
Royal Travel & Tours’ Brittney Magner owns magnificent outlook. P14
SPORTS
HOUSE OF THE WEEK
Avid vs. COVID-19: New Trier athletes staying fit in uncertain spring. P12
P9
FOLLOW US:
NO. 389 | A JWC MEDIA PUBLICATION
NEWS
TOP
20
WAYS TO KEEP YOUR SANITY WHILE SHELTERING IN PLACE BY MITCH HURST THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND
The novel Covid-19 Virus, or the coronavirus, has upended life as we know it, at least for now and the coming days. On Friday, March 20, Governor Pritzker issued Executive Order 2020-10, ordering all Illinoisans to stay in their homes to prevent further spread of the virus. It’s important to note this is not a “lockdown.” Illinoisans can leave their homes to obtain essential products and services, such as purchasing food at a grocery store, doing their laundry at a laundromat, or taking their dogs for a walk. Here are 20 things North Shore residents can do in response to the spread of the virus and the “stay-at-home” order: • Take the dog—or just yourself—for a walk along the lakefront as long as you practice social distancing. In other words, don’t gather around a bunch of other dog-walkers for a chat. • Get takeout from a local restaurant that is Continued on PG 8
DASH FOR A CURE BORN WITH A RARE CONDITION, NORTH SHORE RESIDENT CREATES A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT FOR OTHERS WHO SHARE IT. BY MITCH HURST THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND
Imagine you couldn’t pick up your newborn child without harming yourself. Or you developed swelling on your hands simply by pushing your child around Disneyworld in a stroller. Or that simple, everyday activities caused blistering on your feet so bad you couldn’t walk. Imagine you’re Megan Gosselin. Gosselin suffers from a mild, but still painful, form of epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a group of rare conditions that result in easy blistering of the skin or mucous membranes. As Gosselin explains, human skin has two layers and most people have a layer of “velcro” between them that both separates them and holds them together. Those with EB are missing that middle layer, which makes it much easier to damage the skin. For some, the disease is life threatening. “You have to watch the clothes you wear, the shoes you wear, and be really in touch with your body,” Gosselin says. “It looks like lots and lots of blisters and those blisters can cluster and last for months. Eighty percent of days I have a blister.” Gosselin was the first member of her family to be diagnosed with EB and, pre-Internet, her parents had to scramble to get information and figure out how to respond. Since then, research has advanced to develop treatments for the one in 20,000 Americans that suffer from the condition. Two years ago, when she was just 29, Gosselin testified before the FDA. “I’m a manufacturing engineer for GE so thankfully most of my day is spent analyzing data on a computer and not having to use my hands or feet to earn a living,” she told the committee. “There are days when I cannot hold a pen to write or dread a new introduction where a handshake can bring tears to my eyes. On days like this I rely heavily on my husband, family, and co-workers to do simple
The Gosselin Family
tasks for me, which at times is humiliating.” Because of the blistering and, for some with EB, permanent scarring, EB can be a socially isolating condition. Even up through her first college years at Rensselaer Polytechnic University in upstate New York Gosselin hid her condition from others. “Even through college I tried to hide it. I would wear certain clothes or not participate in certain activities,” Gosselin says. “I was worried that people thought it was gross or that I was contagious.”
In her early 20s, Gosselin began being more open about having EB. After she had her first daughter, she started having long online discussions with other women suffering from EB who were worried about passing the disease on to their children. She began to feel a sense of community, and that led her to become more involved in efforts to educate the public and advocate for a cure. Six years ago Gosselin, an athlete despite Continued on PG 8
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 991 HIGHLAND PK, IL