West Valley High School: Having seen health care from the patient’s view Moriah Dedera wants in

West Valley High School senior Moriah Dedera has lived for years with hypermobility in her joints, where something as simple as swinging her arm to hit a ball can cause her shoulder to dislocate. Despite that and a recent diagnosis of inflammation in her liver, she has worked hard to earn a perfect GPA at school.

“I have witnessed Moriah’s incredible resilience and dedication to her academic and personal pursuits, especially in the face of challenges she has encountered with her health,” school counselor Kyle Bush said. “Moriah has been diagnosed with an incurable liver disease and a joint disease, yet she approaches life with a level of determination and positivity that is truly inspiring.”

Dedera used to play volleyball, even though she had to have her shoulders taped each time so she could hopefully avoid dislocating her shoulders as she played. Last year she visited an urgent care after noticing swelling in her legs. After a blood test, they promptly sent her to the hospital. The tests revealed an autoimmune disorder that created inflammation in her liver, Dedera said.

The disorder is called autoimmune hepatitis. “It’s attacking my liver,” she said.

The two diagnoses led Dedera to shift her focus away from physical activity, though she still is able to go hiking with the help of wraps and braces.

“I feel like I found a lot of other outlets,” she said. “I put a lot of time into my school work and I’m pretty crafty.”

She has taken several advanced placement classes and is a member of the National Honor Society. She was previously a member of the Health Occupations Students of America.

When it was time to start high school, Dedera knew she didn’t want to sit in six classes a day. She investigated NEWTech Prep, formerly the NEWTech Skills Center, a vocational and technical school that offers half day classes in a wide variety of career fields. The medical assistant program caught her eye.

“I had never really thought about going into the medical field,” she said. “It’s always been interesting to me, but it’s never been my main focus.”

She’s now a second-year student and has been working in the office of a local orthopedic surgeon. In addition to preparing for her high school graduation, she’s preparing to take the Certified Clinical Medical Assistant exam, which is administered by the National Healthcareer Association.

Once Dedera earns her medical assistant license, she hopes to get a job in Salem, Oregon, where she will be attending Corban University in the fall. She picked Corban because her parents and older brother, one of three older siblings, attended the university and Dedera has family there.

“I want to be near family just in case something happens with my health, but I don’t want to stay in Spokane,” she said.

She plans to earn a nursing degree because the medical assistant work of charting and preparing people for their appointments isn’t hands-on enough for her. “I feel like I want to be more involved,” she said. “I really just want to further my knowledge. I honestly don’t know if I’ll stop at nursing.”