Jenny Zitnay was born in Columbia, Maryland in 1979 to her parents Andy and Gail Zitnay. She was diagnosed at 3 months old with Aicardi Syndrome. She has been through her share of medication changes, hospital visits, surgeries, and much more just like many other children with Aicardi Syndrome. Despite all the things in her life she has always been a very happy child. She has the most wonderful smile and her laugh can light up a room.
She has many favorite hobbies. Some include bowling, taking walks on beautiful days, swinging, swimming, watching game shows and sports on tv, and many more. One of her favorite things to do is go to parties. She loves the atmosphere of people everywhere and action happening all around her.
She has two siblings, Drew Zitnay and Katie Stanton. Drew is one year younger and Katie is four years younger. Growing up with a sister with a disability wasn't always easy for them. In their own ways they went through the typical stages of jealousy, embarrassment, and then acceptance. They both have a wonderful understanding of what it means to have a sister with a disability. They have both now married wonderful people who also love and care for Jenny.
When Jenny was a child she went to a special school for severely disabled children in Howard County, MD called Cedar Lane. They offered many wonderful classes for children like Jenny who would have never been able to be in a regular diploma bound school. They had physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, swimming, art, music, horticulture, and many more. Jenny was very lucky to be blessed to go to such a wonderful school.
When she graduated at 21 she started going to a day program in Baltimore, Maryland. After a few years there we moved her to a more appropriate program in Silver Spring, Maryland. A van picks her up in the morning around 7:45 and drops her back off in the afternoon around 4:15. They take the children out into the community three days a week! They go to malls, movies, bowling, for walks in the park, museums, shopping and many more places! Jenny loves to be out and about with her peers.
Like I said before Jenny is one of the happiest people I know. Even with everything she has been through she maintains her good attitude. At this point in her life she is quite healthy and we hope it stays that way for many years to come.