By ERICA SHUMWAY
For Marian Labrum, teaching is more than an occupation; it is a revolt against what life has dealt her.
For the past three years, the professor has been confined to a wheelchair due to the most debilitating form of multiple sclerosis. Since then, she has continued teaching Spanish classes at BYU. She uses technology to overcome the difficulty of teaching without standing, writing or using a chalkboard in the classroom.
In 2000, Labrum was diagnosed with primary/progressive multiple sclerosis, an incurable disease caused by the degeneration of the lining of nerves in the brain and spinal cord. It affects the body?s ability to respond to brain commands such as walking.
In Labrum?s case, she has lost the ability to take more than three or four feeble steps at a time, her speech is a bit slurred, and it is difficult for her to write legibly.
Her life changed ?enormously? as her disease became more serious, she said. But she decided to ?make the most of it.? Although many of the activities she once loved, such as traveling and sunbathing on the beach, are now out of the question, she finds joy in teaching.
When she made the decision to return to BYU, where she has taught Spanish since 1975, she knew she would have to adapt.
?I can?t reach the chalkboard anymore and my handwriting has become very hard to read,? Labrum said. ?That?s why my students send compositions to me through e-mail and I correct them electronically.?
In 2003 she received the Teaching and Learning with Technology fellowship grant from BYU. It gave her money to purchase a laptop and develop her technology teaching methods.
She has adapted well to using technology like Blackboard and PowerPoint presentations in her classes, said Quina Hoskinsson, a professor in the Spanish department.
Along with teaching, Labrum finds time to communicate with her five grandchildren, all under the age of eight. A grin spreads across her face when she talks about how they always draw her in a wheelchair in the pictures they send her.
Labrum?s husband said the last few years have been hard. It is difficult not to be able to do the activities they used to enjoy doing together like traveling and camping.
?It?s not an experience that I would wish on anyone, except maybe Saddam,? Joseph Labrum said.
In the meantime, Labrum?s disease is causing more and more debilitation. According to her husband, she will continue to teach as long as she can, but may not be back to teach next fall. But for now, he said, teaching and the grandchildren keep her going.
Jill Perkinson, a sophomore, from Mesa, Ariz., majoring in speech language pathology, is a student in Labrum?s Spanish 321 class. ?It is amazing to me just to see her so positive and happy.? Perkinson said. ?She always laughs at herself even if she drops something in class.?
Labrum said she gains strength to overcome the frustration by praying. The experience ?is teaching ? hasn?t taught me ? patience with myself,? she said.
Even though life changed, Labrum said her faith has not. Her voice filled with emotion when she said, ?The only thing that remains the same is that I knew before that I was a child of God and I am still a child of God.?