A Day Of My Life

The stench of death hit my nostrils as I opened the door to go inside, which is why I always hated going to the hospital. We waited the fifteen minute queue, until I heard my name from a nurse. I followed the nurse into a small, beige room. I sat down on the examining table, as my doctor walked in. I told him my symptoms, and he did a quick check up. His cold fingers pressed against my lower back. “Breathe in and out.” He said. I did as told. “Slower.” he exclaimed. At that moment, while I was slowly breathing in and out, I could hear a small click every time I inhaled. The doctor looked up and said, “Ahhh, you seem to have pneumonia.” He explained to my mom and I what that meant because we were clueless. After he finished, he told us that if I waited any longer to go to the hospital, he wouldn’t be speaking to me, which opened my mom’s eyes finally. He told me that I couldn’t go to school for at least another two weeks, gave me a school note and my prescription. We left the hospital. My mom dropped me off, and went to pick up the medication. As I lay in bed, I remember thinking about everything that has happened to me in the past two days, and what the doctor told me. Those thoughts were interrupted by the opening of my bedroom door as my mom walked in. She handed me the medication. I swallowed the pills, and fell asleep. The next morning my mom walks in with a stack of papers. She said, “It’s alright if you’re not able to attend class,

Now it was around midnight and I was settled into my ICU room. Everyone left beside my mom and dad. All I wanted to do was go to bed. Doctor after doctor would come and go checking all my vitals and putting medicine into my IV. When I did get to sleep it was only for an hour. The nurses would come in every hour to make sure I was okay. They woke me up at 6:00am to get another cat scan. The machine was in the basement that looked like it was a place in the movies where all the

My hospital bed was ice cold and the bleak and empty white walls depressed me as the uncomforting thought that I would have to stay here for maybe another week brought tears to my eyes. The usual and oppressive smell of disinfectant lingered in the room as I recalled that night in my head, trying to convince myself it wasn’t my fault, as I had done everyday since the accident. It was the day everything changed and my life was turned upside down. Forever.

The doctor paid no attention to my behavior and made me lie down. He opened my eyelid and began examining me. He was very quick about it. He then sent me away and told an official nearby that I was fine. This relieved me, and I waited outside for my father to finish. Fathers check-up took longer than usual and that set me worrying; what would I do in this world without my father. I prayed to God to let him be ok. After 2 hours of tedious waiting my father finally came out, he had an H marked on him. He told me that he had a heart defection and would not see me for maybe weeks. I immediately got scared and held on to him. An officer yanked me away and took me to a

They had to run so much tests and questions before surgery it was so annoying. Later I find myself laying in bed getting everything connected on me so I could go to the surgery room. They said it would take about thirty minutes to finish the process of the surgery. When they came to get me I literally started to scream “wheeeeee” in the hallway while they pulled me away from my room. As I entered the surgery room it became so cold that my breath could be visible. Later a guy started to explain to me on what their going to do and how they're going to put me on the

March 8th of 2013 is a date that will forever be engraved in my history. That sunny Friday would soon turn into a treacherous storm that would change my life forever. It began when my mother woke up. She was ready to take me to school as usual, but today she was feeling different. As we got inside the car, she had a hard time walking due to a painful sting she had in her lower abdomen. The car ride turned into a horror show as she began screaming from the pain she was experiencing, as if she were ready go into labor. Me, not knowing what to do, asked her if I should call 911. She refused. I was feeling anguished since was driving with the pain, which could have resulted in a car crash. As I got to school, I saw her ride off with a painful look

My surgeon, Dr. Mainigi came back into the room with two other doctors and she told me that it was time for me to be wheeled away. I said my “I love you’s” to my family as one of the male doctors wheeled me away. He was asking me questions, trying to ease my nerves a little bit. We finally reached the operating room. I transferred from the hospital bed to the operating table. My heart was beating so fast, as I realized this was really happening. There were at least 10 doctors in the room and there was a light above me shining down on me. Dr. Mainigi anesthetized me and before I knew it, I saw

Once he left my mother and I spent a few more moments together until the nurse anesthetist returned with medication to put me to sleep. The nurse inserted the dosage into my IV, the anesthesia burned as it passed into me through the tube. A few minutes later they came and started to roll me away, I entered a cold room as I looked around I noticed my white board with my name on it was well as the surgery the surgical team would be performing. After they asked me to transfer myself onto the table, I groggily tried to keep my eyes open. My doctor had appeared in the room, and as he was positioning my wrist darkness over took me.

A couple days later I woke up again and I was tangled in more IV’s than I was before and I had tubes coming from the side of my ribs and a nasal cannula coming from my nose and I felt more out of it than I was before. I couldn’t move or feel my legs, I could barely move my feet, and I wasn't able to sit up. I was so confused on what was happening, then I heard someone talking to me and asking me if I knew what day it was and if I remembered what happened. I didn't know what exact day it was but I remembered all the pain I was going through. My nurse informed me of what happened and why I was in the State I was in. Turns out my spinal cord had a stroke because it wasn’t comfortable with having those rods inside of me, so the rods were removed.

I was operated on at Seattle Children's Hospital. The surgery took around six hours, according to my mom. She said the stress of waiting for my surgery to be over while in the waiting room was worse than someone who was being held at gunpoint. All I can really remember from the whole experience are a few things. The hospital had a very friendly, almost warm feeling to it and I felt like I was going to be fixed. For the first time in my life, people would be able to understand me. I wouldn't have to repeat myself over and over again like someone who was visiting a country in which they barely knew it's language. I was excited and anxious due to the fact that I was at a hospital, seems a little ridiculous to be anxious. But, honestly who doesn't get a little bit anxious when they're about to be put to sleep and have doctors do surgery on your body that'll have a major effect on your life. Another thing I remember at the hospital was before preparing me for the surgery, the nurses were very sweet and kind to me. After the prepping, I recall being wheeled down the hallway to a room for the procedure. I said my goodbyes and “I love you’s” to the family members who were there, it was my mother, father and grandparents. I then went through a double, slightly padded or sealed, doorway which led to the operating room. I was then set down on a surprisingly comfy

I had no idea how I got to the operation room from the pre-op room or from the operation room to the post-op room. All I knew was that when I woke up I was in the post-op room. It took me awhile to fully wake up, as I was in and out of a haze for a few minutes. Once I was truly awake, I realized that my right foot was now in a boot and that it was also elevated. The nurse asked me if I was in any pain and if I needed anymore medication. After I said that I was fine, she took me to a separate room where my mother was waiting. While in this room, another nurse came in to ask me if I would like anything to drink or eat. Once I answered, she left and came back with apple juice and animal crackers. It was now around five o’clock and everything was coming to an end; we were almost ready to go home. To get me from the room down to the ground level and to the car I had to ride in wheelchair. This was my first time being in one myself. My mom and I had prepared for me possibly feeling out of sorts and not wanting to sit upright in the car on the way home. So, we packed blankets and pillows. After the whole backseat was ready and I was situated, we started home. On our way, we stopped once to get a sandwich for me because I was still hungry from not eating much that day.

When we finally got there the mom that drove us there dropped us off at the emergency center and left because she had to go to work. While we were in the waiting room I was trying to convince my mother to get us a taxi and leave because I didn’t want to have stitches. She wasn’t going to let me go home though. After about five minutes go by and a doctor came out and called us into a room that she made sure I had to get stitches. It was a short girl that couldn’t speak greek very well with black hair and dark skin. She said I would have to have three to four stitches. After she left to get the doctor who was actually going to give me the stitches I got scared and I had goosebumps all over my arms. The doctor came in five to ten minutes later and he asked me and my mother a bunch of questions before he started the surgery. After that he warned my mom that she might get dizzy watching the surgery. When he started the surgery he put a blue plastic on top of me, gave me an anesthetic pill, and gave me the

The day was August 1st, 2013. Summer was coming to an end and fall was close at hand. However, on this particular day, I paid no mind to the changing season. Hundreds of people strolled the hospital hallway, their voices echoing the long pale corridors like distant hums. Despite the outside chatter, my room encompassed a certain stillness. I had always associated stillness with serenity, but this stillness was made up of apprehension, hopefulness, and most notably, fear. As I sat on a bed meant for sick patients, I looked around the small confines of the white room to my family. Within each of them I saw panic; I saw the fear of losing me. After what seemed like a lifetime suspended within a cruel dream, the doctor finally entered the room.

Saturday, September 8th, 2007 is a night that I will never forget. I was just nine years old at the time, but that evenning, I was first exposed to the power of medicine and inspired by the actions of healthcare professionals. Following the birth of my sister, my mom had a life-threatening bleeding condition and her life was hanging in the balance if actions were not taken immediately. Her doctors had diagnosed her with disseminated intravascular coagulation and she required emergency hysterectomy to save her life. I was scared and felt powerless. My mom was in the operating room, fighting for her life, and there was nothing I could do. Numerous emotions flew through my head, but I never felt alone. In addition to the comfort of my family,

My father and brother are very far out in the deep waters searching for seashells and any aquatic life swimming through the warm, ocean waters. Back on the shore, my mother, my sister, and I are tanning and reading magazines that we grabbed at the hotel. On the cover of the magazine in bold letters it says “SURGERY.” It reminds me of the day Mother got her surgery. She and Father left very early that morning to drive to Apple Hill Surgical center. My parents warned us to behave and that my sister was in charge for the day. My brother and I would have to behave or we