Clara Jansen [Belgium]

. . : : T H E ~ C H A R A C T E R : : . .

..:Appearance:
Clara has short, wavy golden hair that barely touches her shoulders. She can easily be identified by the headband she constantly is wearing, which has long ribbons attached to it that she ties in the back of her head to act as a bow. She has green eyes that twinkle mischievously, giving away everything, but at the same time nothing.

Due to her green eyes and the way the corners of her mouth always seem to be curved upward, she has been described as being "cat-like" in appearance. She's somewhat tall, and, because of her condition, very thin. Her mother always told her:

"Oh, honey, you'd make a beautiful model!"

If only she had been a little healthier.

Clara is actually a very girly person, preferring to wear dresses and skirts whenever she can. She paints her nails frequently, preferring brighter colors. She tends to blend in with a crowd, despite her wanting (and trying her best) to stand out.

Even with her illness, she still gives off a cheery disposition. Although her face is thin and somewhat bony, there's a childish innocence left in it. She tries to smile the most she can, constantly saying:

"A person's best feature is always their smile! How can I tell someone else to smile if I won't do it myself?"


..:Personality:
"Maybe I watched way too many Disney movies when I was little, but... I think that everything has a happy ending, and if it's not happy, it's not the end! Right?"

Clara has always been an optimistic, if not somewhat nosy, person. It's not so much that she cares about others more than she does herself - it's just that other people's lives are so much more interesting than hers. She's prone to interrogating anybody who she comes across, not out of suspicion but curiosity. Her friendliness often comes off as intrusive and meddlesome, making some of her very first impressions not so great.

She has always been the person people run to when they need someone to talk to, because she's an excellent listener. To be honest, though, she's not that great at giving advice. She just really loves hearing people's stories.

Although she'll never admit it, it really irks her when people wallow in self-pity for long periods of time. She tries to be as caring and understanding as possible, but people whining about how much their life sucks just gets on her nerves. She's had to bite her tongue on multiple occasions because of this pet-peeve.

She will sometimes try and sneak a waffle or two to eat, but it usually only ends up giving her a stomach ache anyways.

.Diagnosis:
Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis
.Symptoms:
> Serious abdominal pain
> Nausea and vomiting
> Chest pain
> Malnutrition
.Incident:
After seemingly being in "remission" for more than six years, leading a normal life, Clara was admitted into Axis Memorial for symptoms she recognized all too well.
.Other Notes:
Clara has basically lived in hospitals her whole life, so she's pretty used to it.


..:History:
Clara Jansens was only 6 months old when they diagnosed her with Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis, a rare disease where she has above normal amounts of white blood cells in her GI tract, giving her digestive complications. It all started when she was still an infant, after she would scream in pain after eating. Her parents finally took her to the hospital after she refused to eat for a long period of time, slowly starving herself.

The doctors started her on medication and a special formula, hoping that it would repair her GI tract. She seemed to be doing well for the next 4 years, and it looked like she would be entering school as a normal child.

But unfortunately, just a few months after her fourth birthday her EGE came back with a vengeance. After being rushed to the hospital for the second time in her life, it was decided that she would be flown out of their small town and to America to have a feeding tube placed into her stomach permanently. The idea was that she would go to live with a distant relative in California while recovering from the surgery, and after that come back to Belgium to live with her family again.

But that never happened. After the feeding tube was installed, her family's funds took a hit. She ended up starting school in America at the age of six, living on her feeding tube and light foods that wouldn't upset her stomach.

Once again she seemed to be doing well, living a semi-normal childhood. Her frail, short, and thin frame hit a growth spurt and she began to look healthy for the first time in her life.

But once more her remission ended, and at age ten she stopped tolerating the formula that was being pumped into her by her feeding tube. Another decision had to be made, and soon she was placed on just nutrition through her veins. The doctors hoped that this would let her GI tract rest for awhile, and then she could be put back on her feeding tube.

When she was 15, things were finally looking up for her. She started using her feeding tube again and returned to school. She graduated (a bit late from all the school she had missed, but got a diploma nonetheless) and decided to stay in California and work to save up for college.

..:Other Important Info:
She has a brother that she hadn't seen since she was flown to America, although she's heard rumors that he's actually somewhere in this city now...

..:Roleplay Sample:
Oh, the first day at school. Clara looked around the classroom nervously, not sure where to go. She searched the adult faces in the room, looking for someone who might have resembled a teacher, when she finally spotted a kind looking lady in the corner with a badge hanging around her neck.

Still standing in the doorway, Clara tentatively took a few steps forward. She felt a little awkward, having one backpack on her shoulders and another in her hands. She wanted to hand the one that had her feeding pump to the teacher and get it out of the way, but it looked like the teacher was a little pre-occupied with a child that refused to let go of his mom's leg.

Clara blinked, thinking about that. Would she be like that if her mom was here dropping her off? Clinging onto her leg, sobbing? She felt bad for the kid. He was probably just scared. Maybe he had never been away from his mom before?

She walked across the classroom towards him, and smiled brightly when he saw her. She crouched down to him and happily exclaimed:

"Hi! My name is Clara."

The boy's eyes widened, and both his mother and the teacher watched the young blonde girl with dismay.

After waiting for a moment for his response, Clara decided to try again.

"Umm... I have to hand this backpack to my teacher, but after that do you want to play? I like to color. Or maybe we could play with blocks!"

Slowly, the boy nodded and released his mother's ankle. Clara grinned at him again and turned to the lady with the badge.

"Are you my teacher?"

The lady promptly shut her mouth and nodded brightly.

"Yes, I am. Are you Clara?"

Now it was Clara's turn to nod. "Clara Jansen. My uncle told me to give you this..." she said, holding out the black backpack with the pump. The teacher eyed it for a moment, before realizing what it was. She took the bag out of Clara's hands, feeling slightly surprised at how heavy it was.

"Oh, right, right! Of course. Now, you can go play with..." the teacher's voice trailed off as she realized that the little boy wasn't there anymore. Clara turned around, and laughed as she noticed he was missing.

"Don't worry! I'll go find him!" she said with a grin. The six year old waved at her teacher and the boys mom before turning around to go find her new friend.

. . : : O O C ~ I N F O R M A T I O N : : . .

.Name:
Ashley. But if you have to call me Kon or Lil or something, please. x3
.Timezone:
-5:00 GMT/Central time
.MSN/AIM;etc:
konnieneko@hotmail.com
.You read the rules, right?:
I like neon colors, like lime green and aqua and hot pink.
.Anything else?:
Hurrr... This is my first forum roleplay. So sorry if it's a fail. orz. And sorry if I wrote you a novel in each of the sections, I got a little carried away. xD

I know her disease is a bit... Out there. Sorry. I just find it interesting. I tried to describe it the best I could. D;

I just went with the last name the current Netherlands RPer has, I figured it would be easier that way or something? If it's not okay I can change it. :DD

Sorry for the late reply!

I am also sorry again, but we cannot accept this application. The personality section didn't strike me as describing the few canon pieces of information we have about her, or anything else. I do love the amount of information you have on her condition, but it didn't strike us as her. Once again, I am sorry! Thank you for applying.