On Saturday July 2, 2010 I meet Tiffany a 10 year old girl that has leukemia at St. Jude Children’s Hospital. We started talking and when she told me she had leukemia I was surprised how happy she seemed, so I asked her why she seems so happy when she knows she has a disease that’s life threatening, her response was “you only live once and if something were to happen to me the day after tomorrow I don’t want to have any regrets “like I wish I did that” I want to know that I lived my life to the fullest when it’s time for me to go.” When Tiffany told me that it inspired me because you don’t know what the future holds. Although this little girl had gone through intense sessions of chemotherapy somehow she still found the strength to influence…
I feel like I’m in an episode of ER or Grey's Anatomy without the pretty people. There were rows and rows of people on gurneys in the hallways. Waiting for a room? Is Michelle going to be one of them? Then there were cops everywhere and they were taking reports and I looked in one room and a woman’s face was completely bloody. And then I heard the word attacked and realized this must be the norm here. Well I guess Michelle was lucky because we got right in a room. So now Michelle is still really, really out of it and they hook her up to oxygen and try to get her hydrated. In the course of being there we saw about six different nurses and two different doctors. She had a chest x-ray, EKG and blood work done and little by little her blood pressure started coming back to normal. All I wanted was to take her home. I hated to leave the room to find a bathroom because I was afraid of what I was going to see out there. You see I can't watch TV medical shows because I faint at the sight of blood. I kept my head down and found a bathroom without getting lost. Finally 14 hours later at 10:30 p.m. we got to go…
We decide to stay a while longer then head home for school. We are anxious to even think about the night of the accident but it’s glued to our minds but we make through the day and head to the hospital. We go to the hospital again and again until she is able to walk. I ask her “how do you feel?” She says “i’m fine son.” Me, Aaron and Kayla talk to her on the way home, we get home and uncle is there. I saw his face it was All black and blue with stitches from the surgery. Uncle didn’t want us to see him he thought we would be scared of him. A few months have passed she is still a little sore from it, she finally tells us “I almost had to go into emergency surgery because they couldn’t get me to stop bleeding.” and dad has come back from Iraq the snow has piled up 19 inches high. The doctor said she couldn’t lift more than 50 lbs. She helped us shovel the snow such a good mom she shouldn’t help us she still did such a sweet…
You could feel the tension in the car. I soon realized how similar we are and how he had already gone through what I’m going through as a teenager. We talked about life and how we would help my mom if Sadie did happen to die. Sadie was my mom’s first dog so we knew this would hit her hard. When we arrived at the vet and Sadie needed a blood transfusion which is risky but my mom would try anything to save her. Sad about Sadie, my mom was anxious to see what would happen. While Sadie was undergoing the blood transfusion my mom told my brother and I to get the other dogs so they could say goodbye to Sadie just in case. Again, we were in the car and started talking. It was crazy because those two car rides made my brother and I closer than we had ever been before. My brother gave me advice on my friends, boys, and my parents. When we got back to the vet we were just in time, Sadie had just gotten out of surgery. Our vet has done it once again. Sadie was going to be alright, but we would have to keep a close eye on her for a…
It was the summer before my sophomore year in high school. Break was ending, and schools were opening soon. We just moved from a small town called Sikeston to Saint Charles, Missouri due to my dad’s new job. I have lived in Sikeston my whole life, and I did not fully understand why we all suddenly had to move. I was slowly starting to adjust to my new life in Saint Charles and my new school when twelve days after I moved, I received a call informing that one of my closest friends passed away. The whole conversation felt surreal, but I still remember that day, August 21st. I saw my friend Aubrey two weeks before he passed away, the happiest, sweetest kid I knew. I did not understand why that was the last time I would ever see him again. I did not understand exactly what happened. I did not understand why Aubrey out of all people had a tumor in his ear. That was the first time that someone close to me…
My grandma's condition wasn't anything but hard for me and my family to deal with. Everyday with her was a roller coaster that held many twists and turns and couldn't stay on the track. If you didn't hold on tight, you’d thrown off. You never knew what she would remember each morning that she woke. Some days she would know the date and she was aware of her surroundings, while other days (which weren’t so great), she'd be back in time when her husband was alive and she’d call for him. Then she’d be puzzled as to why he wouldn't call her name back. When my mom would bear her the bad news he has been gone for years, my great grandma turned as silent as a mouse for the remainder of the day, wallowing in her sorrow. Yet, as her memory faded, mine…
My freshman year in high school, I decided to join Best Buddies. Best Buddies is a program where a high school student is paired with another student, who has an intellectual and developmental disability, in a one-to-one friendship. During my first year, I learned Best Buddies is not simply a club but a family. My second year of being a part of Best Buddies I began truly noticing a change in myself. Sophomore year I was paired with a girl one year younger than me named Carrie. She and I have become best friends and have now been buddies for the past three years. As I interacted with Carrie these past years, I began to realize disabilities do not hold people back, but that we hold ourselves back. Despite Carrie’s misfortune, she wears a smile…
I woke up in the hospital, the room was stuffy and the air had a undertone of bleach. Beautiful framed pieces of art hang the wall. There were vases of flowers in the room. I look around, every surface was dustless. The nurses were unhurried, they moved with a serene peacefulness from room to room on their rounds. Above the double doors were large blue plastic signs with the area of the hospital that lie ahead. I got this overwhelming feeling of wanting to cry. Brick by brick my walls were tumbling down. The feeling punched through my empty stomach ripping through my bones, guts, and muscles. I knew Ms. Anna would be upset.…
It was 2009 and I had been in sixth grade for a couple of months. I was on the phone with one of my friends from school when my mom called through my door for me to come out into the living room. I ignored her and kept talking for a few minutes when she called me out again. I rolled my eyes and told my friend I would call her right back. I walked into the living room and it seemed odd to me that both my sisters and dad were all out there too. I watched my mom take a deep breath with my dad by her side. As she began to speak her voice shook and gloss covered her eyes. “The doctors found a lump in my last mammogram.” she said. “It came back as cancer. I’m going to have to get treatment but I’m going to be okay.” No one else said a word, we all…
We were so happy, I started explaining to her where we were, how the place looked like and that there was a big garbage can, as I explain tears dripped from my eyes. We hugged each other, cried, and stayed put right next to the garbage can. We finally saw my mother’s silver BMW car. We slowly walked towards the car, making sure that it was my mother or one of our parents are in there. I then saw my mother did something with her hand, I know what that meant to hurry up, I told my little cousins to hurry up and get in the car, we ran as fast as we could towards the car and got in. Since then my little cousins and I learned a very big and important lesson that we will never forget, it to your pacings with your family, close and to tell them that you need a break if you are losing your…
I remember that cold November like it was yesterday. It was so cold that I felt the breeze going through my skin. I remember waking up to my mom and sisters crying. I can tell that my father was trying his hardest not to cry. I’ve always felt safe at home, it’s a place to feel peace and joy with family but this was different. I just wanted everything to be like the normal days where my mom fusses at me for not waking up earlier for school or forgetting to do the laundry. Everybody was so sad but trying there hardest to be strong in front of me. Everybody surrounded me as I was getting ready, it seemed like they were following my every move. I tried my hardest not to cry or just fall apart because I know that it would only make things worse and break everyone into pieces. I had to remain strong and remember that I’ve been through this before and that God is always by my side. Sitting on the dining table was pointless; the food was just there for show. Nobody seemed to have an appetite. It seemed as if they were the one going through this tragedy but I can’t blame them. If anything happened to them, I would feel the same way. I had left my house a billion times before but that morning was by far one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. I kissed my sisters goodbye and told them to be strong for me and regardless of what happens, that they’ll always be in my heart. I have 3 sisters and not seeing there beautiful faces again would destroy me. Getting into the car was like moving to a new house. It was so quiet driving to the hospital with my parents. It was the longest drive of my life although I didn’t want the drive to end. I had to be strong though and remember that I am no longer 4 years old anymore. I was only 17 and I already been through this life trial before. Everything seemed to be playing in slow motion. I started to remember every childhood memory I had. I remembered the first time I…
That summer, June 15, was her surgery. I remember the day so clearly. I was sitting in a waiting room, hoping everything was going well. It was the longest day for everybody. Seven hours later, she was out of surgery. The surgery went well and her only problem was temporary paralysis. As bad as that seemed, I was so glad that she would become healthy again. I visited her everyday and even stayed over at the hospital a few nights.…
So some time had passed, and I was missing a lot of school because I was staying in the hospital during these times really felt useless and couldn’t do much of anything about it. Every week my heart was giving out on me felt as when you ball your fist up and your nails stab your skin. I hated going to school because all eyes were on me and I didn’t like the feel of that. I’m Sitting in my English class and we were reading “ To Kill a mocking bird” it was my turn to read and I felt my heart in my chest just stop and I hit the ground. Everything happened so quick; this one was the worst of them all. When I regained consciousness I had a automated external defibrillator attached to my chest my school nurse then started to give chest to chest compressions. Basketball season was going on at this time I was on the team but could hardly ever play because of everything that was happening with me at the time. My sophomore year ended for me early which was dreadful. It’s my senior year now and I’m healthy and have more motivation than I ever had I’ve learned that their is nothing to big that can stop you. Taking AP classes this year and even when I’m tired and still have work to do I just stop and remember the times that I couldn’t do my work because of always being in the hospital. Life through my eye’s is different i'm thankful for every second I…
Timothy is the best physical therapist we have in the Chicago area . He is one of the most energetic, positive, and outstanding therapist we have. If he believes there’s a will then there’s definitely a way. Positive thinking is the key to a healthy recovery. Maybe that’s why his face with his goofy grin is plastered on every billboard in the area. And it’s definitely why he has his own practice and is on the top 10 list of Best Physical Therapists in the state of Illinois.…
The ambulance took me to the Hospital and took care of my hurt ankle. I was feeling quite sad and angry that my mom had died that day. I will never forget her. I wondered to myself what I would do now. My mom’s brother (Alec) asked me if I was ok, I said yes, I wanted to stay with him for awhile, the only person that would make me feel…