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Monroe County Reporter • May 24, 2023
Graduation
Health challenges show Guice he can overcome anything
Damion Guice
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
When Damion “DJ”
Guice walks across the field
to claim his Mary Persons
diploma on Friday night,
he will be a proud member
of the Class of2023 and his
success will be extra sweet
because he has worked
harder than many of his
classmates to overcome the
challenges confronting him
over the last two years.
At the end of DJ’s sopho
more year he began expe
riencing episodes known
as ‘rigors.’ His body would
shake for 10-15 minutes;
DJ said it was like a seizure,
but he was completely
conscious. Over time the
rigors began lasting 30
minutes to an hour.
The episodes started two
days after his birthday,
soon after he took the
covid vaccine, but a direct
connection hasn’t been
established. DJ said his
mom suspected that the
covid vaccine triggered his
health problems because
he had always been healthy
previously.
Tests at Children’s Hospi
tal in Atlanta found “gunk
and debris” in his lungs,
and a scan of his heart
found a problem with the
right atrium. DJ had open
heart surgery and then a
month later a second open
heart surgery.
Around Labor Day of
2021 he was back in the
hospital with bad side ef
fects, coughing up blood.
There were two aneurisms
inside his right lung. Subse
quently he was diagnosed
with a rare autoimmune
disorder called HS (Hi-
dradenitis suppurative),
which can cause aneurisms
and blood clots. Part of DJ’s
lower lung was removed.
He went through three
different rounds of chemo
therapy and is taking two
types of drugs now. His
doctors keep a close check,
and if there is pain he is
treated quickly.
DJ said that HS is rare,
with only about 70 cases
currently known in the U.S.
and he is one of the young
est people to have it. He is
in remission, but currently
there is no cure. It limits his
activities—no sports at this
time and no heavy lifting.
When DJ was in 8th
grade he participated on
Monroe County Middle
School’s wrestling team. He
said he enjoyed wrestling,
but the team had to end
its season because of covid
restrictions. Since sports
and some other activities
are out for now, DJ enjoys
other interests, like shoes
and clothes.
He began attending
Monroe County Schools
when he was in 8th grade
because his mother began
teaching at Monroe
County Middle School. He
commutes from Macon but
feels it was a good move
because the educational
system is better than the
one he was in in Macon.
His mother is originally
from Forsyth.
DJ is the son of Linda
and Damion Guice, Sr. He
has one brother, Damarion
Guice, who is in 9th grade
at Mary Persons. He has a
dog named “Tex” and has
had several other beloved
dogs. His experience with
them influenced his plans
for the future.
DJ is going to Tuskegee
University in Tuskegee,
Alabama, majoring in
biology and animal science
and then going to veteri
nary school at Tuskegee,
which is a number one vet
school. DJ was accepted to
21 colleges and received the
University Merit Scholar
ship. He completed 31
dual enrollment classes
at Middle Georgia State
University online and will
begin college as a sopho
more. He has a 3.3 grade
point average in spite of his
frequent hospitalizations
and having to deal with the
change to online classes as
he finished middle school
and started high school.
Tuskegee is 2 1/2 hours
from Macon. DJ said he
will come home monthly
on Fridays to see his doctor
and for chemo appoint
ments so that he can
recover over the weekend.
“It’s just once a month,”
he said. “I really want to go
to school.”
DJ said while he was in
the hospital his grand
mother passed away. She
encouraged him to stay
positive while he was sick,
and she encouraged him
to follow his dream to be a
veterinarian.
“We were very close,” said
DJ.” “I’m going to do it for
her. She’s looking down on
me.
DJ said the human
anatomy class he had
completed before he got
sick helped him under
stand some of what was
going on with his body.
At one time when doctors
wanted to send him home,
he explained to them how
clots were moving and he
was sent from Macon to
Atlanta. DJ said he has built
up good relationships with
his doctors and feels he has
received good care.
“This has taught me that
no matter what age or size
you are, you can do any
thing if you put your mind
to it,” said DJ. ”It helps you
when you get older to gain
the knowledge that you can
get through hard things.”
He said he has a good
support team that moti
vates him to overcome and
to achieve.
Jordan McCord named Positive
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We are so proud
of you! We can’t
wait to see what
the future holds.
Congratulations!!
Love,
Daddy, Mama
and Leah
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LJ,
CLASS OF
2023
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Congratulations,
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Love,
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and Maddie
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CLASS OF
2023
Athlete State Award Winner
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nized at The 2023 Georgia
Positive Athlete Awards
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Positive Athlete, Inc. has
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C0H6BATULATI0NS CLASS OF 2023T
“The successful warrior is the
average man, with laser-like FOCUS.”
- Bruce Lee
Jordan McCord,
a member of Mary
Persons Class of2023,
has been named one of
the 2023 State Award
Winners of the Positive
Athlete organization.
Jordan was recognized
as a member of the
Mary Persons football
team. He is the son of
Rodney and Mequanta
McCord.
For the ninth consec
utive year, the Positive
Athlete organization
selected State Award
Winners for its Georgia
program. Student-
Athletes representing
30 different boys’
and girls’ high school j or d an McCord at the Hubbard El-
sports, two coaches, ementary School walk-through for the
and Temple High Mary Persons Class of 2023
School were named as
the “Most Positive” in
their categories; 33 differ
ent public and private high
schools were represented
amongst the winners for
this year’s awards cycle.
Over 6,000 nominations
from coaches, principals,
athletic directors, teachers,
and parents were submit
ted for the Positive Athlete
program state-wide, repre
senting over 420 public and
private high schools.
Former Forest Park High
School, University of Geor
gia and Pittsburgh Steelers
star, Hines Ward, and local
businessman Scott Peder
son created Positive Athlete
as a movement for more
positivity in youth sports.
In addition to excellence
on the field, each nomi
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characteristics such as
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teammate encourage
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ability to admit im
perfections, giving 100
percent all the time,
and realizing the team
as more important
than the individual.
In addition to rec
ognizing the athletes
and coaches, Temple
High School in Carroll
County was honored
as the Most Positive
High School in the
state after an impres
sive number of quality
nominations.
All of these award
winners will be recog-
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