Grad student dies after long illness

First-year Social Work student Lawrence Zuckerman died Tuesday of complications from Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, Assistant Vice Provost for University Life Barbara Cassel said yesterday. Funeral services for Zuckerman, a 1995 College graduate, were held yesterday in his hometown of New York City. Cassel said she had secured a bus to transport the "40-some" students who wanted to attend the services and burial. Most knew Zuckerman through his deep involvement in the Hillel Foundation. Brian Zuckerman said his brother was also an avid Penn basketball fan, to the point that he checked himself out of the hospital during his sophomore year -- against the advice of doctors who were treating him for an infection -- to see the Penn-Princeton game. Lawrence Zuckerman had struggled for years with Duchenne's, a degenerative genetic disease that causes progressive wasting of muscle tissue, said Evelyn Wiener, who is associate director of clinical medicine at Student Health. Zuckerman's death was ultimately caused by pneumonia, she added, which "was an unexpectedly sudden development in an illness which we knew could be serious." The pneumonia was fatal because Duchenne's weakens the heart, lungs and chest muscles of its victims. "Typically, it is a disease that many of the people who have it don't survive past their late teens or early twenties," Wiener said. Wiener was Zuckerman's physician at the University, but she credits the entire staff of Student Health and Zuckerman's New York pulmonologist with designing and carrying out a care plan that helped him achieve as much as he did. Despite his physical limitations, Zuckerman received a bachelor's degree in history from the University in May. "Last year at graduation, he was incredibly, incredibly proud that he could lead the procession from Superblock to Franklin Field," Brian Zuckerman said. "[Lawrence] marched up front with all the class officials, and he led everyone in. He was so proud to be able to do that, and we were all so proud of him for being able to do it," he added. Cassel described Zuckerman's perseverance in the face of adversity as "amazing," adding that she had worked with Zuckerman and his family since his freshman year to ensure that the University accommodated his needs. College senior Andrew Monfried assisted Zuckerman with many of the necessities of daily living -- such as taking medication and using the bathroom -- through an arrangement with the University's Office of Affirmative Action. Monfried said that despite Zuckerman's advancing illness, he was able to get around campus in his motorized wheelchair and was also able to take notes in class. Zuckerman did not always have to use a wheelchair, Wiener said. She ascribed his relative longevity to high personal motivation and strong family support. "I think it is a real tribute that he came to Penn," she said. "It would have been easy for him to have stayed at home and gone to college up in New York, but when he came to Penn he really had to put together his own structure for support and assistance to help him with things." Brian Zuckerman said his brother was "a fighter." He fondly remembered Lawrence telling him about a speech he gave last year to other disabled students, in which he encouraged them to go to college away from home, despite the challenges presented by an unfamiliar environment. "He was an inspiration to others to achieve, and to try, and to strive, and to go toward college, and make it all the way to becoming as 'normal' and productive members of society as they could," Brian Zuckerman said. "We are proud of him and will miss him."

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