09.11.2024 MOST Staff
“During high school I started having health issues and was ultimately diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. My family was of course very supportive, but my school was so much more supportive than I ever would have expected,” said Hannah Warren, former M.O.S.T. Scholar at Westminster Academy and current University of Memphis student and educator. “My teachers did whatever they could to make sure I would succeed.”
After Hannah’s diagnosis, her mother accompanied her to classes at Westminster. With her father working as a pastor at First Evangelical Church and medical bills disrupting their budget, the family’s M.O.S.T. Scholarship became a lifeline, allowing her to remain enrolled at the school and learning in an environment that could adapt to her changing needs.
As relieved as Hannah was with the faculty and administration’s reaction, she was less sure her peers would respond with the same compassion, and she hid her diagnosis as long as she could.
“When I told my closest friend she turned her back on me, so I did not tell others because I was concerned about how they would react,” she said. “But after I had a spinal fusion in 2015, I got weaker than we expected. When I came back to school I was on a walker and sometimes had to wear oxygen. I realized that I needed to tell everyone, just so that they could understand me better.”
The single lost friendship turned out to be an anomaly. Just like the adults working at the school, her fellow students rallied around her with support. With this solid foundation of allies around her, Hannah thrived in school and became focused on the future, beginning to think about a career in education and a life as an activist raising awareness and funds for muscular dystrophy.
Because of Hannah, Westminster launched an annual muscular dystrophy fundraising day which continues today, six years after her graduation. Through her YouTube channel, Hannah’s Hope, she raises awareness through personal stories about living with muscular dystrophy. She also serves as an ambassador for an organization addressing muscular dystrophy, partnering with local fire departments for Fill-The-Boot days.
“There’s one firefighter in particular that I've helped a lot, from Station 21 at Poplar and Mendenhall,” she said. “His name is Sammy Burford and I met him in 2018, when I was first asked to help fill the boot. We got to know each other a little bit, and he actually came to my graduation.
In a 2020 video posted to Facebook by the Memphis Fire Fighters Association Local 1784, Sammy introduces Hannah as his ‘little sister,’ and she describes the support she’s gotten to deal with the symptoms of her myotonic dystrophy type 1.
“We try to get together at least once a month,” she said.
Because of her condition, Hannah chose to work toward her degree in Elementary Education at the University of Memphis as a part-time student, while also putting in hours at Westminster as a supporting educator.
“I do anything that they ask me to do,” she said. “It can be grading papers, making copies, sitting with the students, or subbing- anything that they need.”
When asked what her future looks like, Hannah sees Westminster Academy in the picture.
“M.O.S.T. gave me the opportunity to be able to stay at a school that made me feel loved. And accepted me, just as I was. My hope would be to teach at Westminster Academy. I feel so connected to the community there and want to be a part of it as long as I can.”
