AUSTIN, Texas — In the water, Jordin Gwyn looks like every other swimmer. He tried other sports, but swimming is what he's best at. Because of his talents, Gwyn joined the Dripping Springs High School swim team.
"It kind of helps me a bit because I can just take my mind off stuff," said Gwyn. "If I'm having a bad day, like, it makes my day feel better because I'm able to focus on what I need to."
While Gwyn looks like every other swimmer, he's not.
At 12 years old, Gwyn and his family found out he was born with Disorders of the Corpus Callosum, otherwise known as DCC.
The corpus callosum is the main connector that allows for direct communication between the left and right hemispheres of the brain.
"In Jordin's case, he's completely missing that piece and so his brain had to build new pathways," said Jodin's mom, Kim Oren.
Gwyn's DCC makes simple tasks more complicated, so something like swimming requires a lot more from him than other swimmers.
"Sometimes, I just see him and he's just like everybody else. He's a typical teen," said Oren. "On the other hand, I think how remarkable it is to imagine what his brain must be doing just to do normal things."
July 2 was DCC Awareness day because it is the day that represents the middle of the year, like the corpus callosum is the middle of the brain.
Oren and Gwyn want people to know that this condition doesn't need to hold anyone back from doing what they love.
Like in Jordin's case: it's swimming.
"I'm able to be confident about my condition and be like I can overcome that," Gwyn said.
So, while Gwyn may look like every other swimmer, he's truly unlike any other.
"I'm the same person, I just live with a disability and I mean, it's hard," said Gwyn. "But on a daily life, I'm used to having this. It's not that difficult for me."
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