In the early 1980s, I was working as an operating-room scrub nurse and was having problems with balance and stamina. When I was on call, it could go on for hours over the weekends. Tired and unsteady, I went to several doctors and learned that I have a hereditary progressive neuromuscular disease for which there is no cure.

I was advised to have leg surgeries and to find less physically demanding employment. My doctor also recommended that I see a rehabilitation counselor. I was advised by the counselor to go to college and change my career. I was quite worried, as I feared that I had been out of school too long and would not be able to get passing grades. I had attended only a hospital-based nursing school in the '60s, and although I had dreamed of going to college, I didn't think I would succeed at a school known for accepting exceptional students.

My dilemma became a mixed blessing. I began college in 1983 in a wheelchair, after my leg surgeries. I took many interesting classes. Probably the most influential was a course in stress, taught by Dr. Stephanie Hoffman. My classmates and I thought we had chosen an "easy A" when we signed up for her course, not knowing how difficult it would prove to be. Many in the class dropped out.

I persevered and was given an assignment related to the Vietnam War. This was my war, the one that stole my friends from high school, and stole my twin brother's spirit. He'd been gregarious and outgoing before the war; he came back sad and quiet, and barely spoke. My twin had been in Vietnam while I was back home, protesting, and I'd been unaware of the guilt that I still felt.

I began to really hate this course, and I told Dr. Hoffman that I would prefer a different assignment. She did not seem to understand my reluctance, and a week later I began the project by interviewing Vietnam veterans. Dr. Hoffman gave me a book about Hans Selye's research on stress and other readings about post-traumatic stress disorders. I read continuously about this war, including Mao Tse-Tung's works about guerrilla warfare.

As I studied, I decided that a book about Vietnam and its effects on Vietnam veterans and their families might be helpful for others -- might help us all to better understand this ambiguous war, and perhaps find meaning in our experiences. I pitched a book idea to an editor at Tor Books, and it was accepted while I was still a student.

Inspired by a short story by Dennis Etchison -- "Deathtracks," about elderly parents looking for clues about their son missing in action in Vietnam -- I put together an anthology of Vietnam stories, most of them by science fiction writers, including noted authors Joe Halderman, Brian Aldiss, Harlan Ellison and Ben Bova. I wrote the introduction, and Ken Stanley Robinson wrote a piece about his visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The resulting book, In the Field of Fire, co-edited by Jack Dann '69, was published in 1987 and received a front-page review from The New York Times Book Review, which called it "an important edition and a significant contribution to the literature of the 1980s." Publishers Weekly called it "an ambitious, intelligent anthology." I was interviewed by National Public Radio! (Oh, what this college can do for you when there are great professors teaching!) Tor Books chose In the Field of Fire as a lead promotional book at the National Book Fair in Washington, D.C.; it also became a finalist for an award in the category of anthologies.

I went on to take courses in peace studies, the psychology of aggression and conflict, cross-cultural counseling, and group and individual counseling. I graduated with high honors and entered graduate school at SUNY Albany, where I received a master's in social work. Following graduation, I was employed by United Health Services Hospitals, Inc. in Binghamton and Johnson City. I practiced

Filipino women working in a rice field (photo by Jeanne Van Buren Pejo)

A mother sleeps with her children while cradling her baby, who is recovering after surgery. (photo by Jeanne Van Buren Pejo)

in the physical rehabilitation program and began a support group for amputees that became one of the largest on the East Coast. Assigned to the steering committees for the Center for Reconstructive Surgery and Open Heart Programs, I provided counseling to patients and their families in all of these disciplines. Eventually, I began my own private practice and treated many people with anxiety disorders and post- traumatic stress disorder. I was a volunteer for the United States Tae Kwon Do team in Korea and the Philippines and provided sports counseling.

My most exciting work has been traveling to Asia for the past eight years as a medical-surgical missionary. As volunteers, we pay for our own transportation and collect medical-surgical supplies, toys and clothing throughout the year for our patients. We operate on babies with severe facial deformities. I was first invited to be a member of this team as a press secretary. However, they had a shortage of nurses, and I became a surgical nurse again. It is exhausting work, but limited to two weeks a year and extremely gratifying. I am working on a photojournalistic article about these missions.

Binghamton University and all my professors empowered me to become confident and not only gave me the tools to be able to understand not only statistics, science and research, but the creativity to find ways to bring my knowledge to my profession. My education gave me the inspiration and courage to become creative when choosing various endeavors and experiences, and instilled in me the need to continue increasing my exposure to all facets of life.

As a photographer, Jeanne is a member of two galleries, where she sells her work. Physically, she has been able to overcome the limitations of her neuromuscular disorder through judicious use of her energy, and she is able to walk, although with difficulty at times.