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My Defining Moment Essay

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It was a casual sunny mall day on a Tuesday afternoon. It was the kind of day where you get front row parking and never stand in line to check-out. It was just my toddler son and I needlessly getting out of the house to enjoy a bit of cool mall air. Our first stop is always the playground but I had to grab a few Auntie Ann’s soft pretzels to munch on while I watched him at play. Being pregnant, I simply could not resist the buttery-baked aroma circulating the air. After contemplating cinnamon sugar, I ordered the biggest cup of salted pretzel bites and a refreshing strawberry-lemonade to drink. Although I have had Auntie Anne’s pretzels numerous of times, I was not prepared for what was about to happen next. All of a sudden, I began feeling …show more content…

Slowly but surely I was placed in an E.R. holding room and strapped to a fetal heart rate monitor as well as a contraction monitor. Having medical knowledge, I was able to determine that I was certainly not having contractions and the baby’s heart rate was ideal by the monitor recordings. “If I am not in labor, then what is wrong with me,” I pondered. My anxiety was instantly at ease knowing that my baby was safe and sound, however it was going to take further testing to determine the real problem. What felt like hours later, a nurse practitioner came into the room and confirmed that I was not in labor nor dilating. She informed me that in order to find the problem we would need to begin with multiple blood draws, a couple swabbings, and an ultrasound. I returned to waiting while my mom pushed my son around the …show more content…

Finally an E.R. doctor entered my room and asked for me to lay flat on my back so she could examine my stomach. She began to press in the different regions of my stomach around my baby bump. With one hand on top of the other, she pressed into the upper left region of my stomach, right below my breast. My body sprung forward as I shrieked in pain. My hands reflexively clenched her wrists as if I thought she was trying to torture me. The pain dissolved instantly while emotions of terror revitalized. The doctor starred directly into my eyes with an unpromising look her in her eyes. Her exact words, “I am afraid you are going to need surgery.” She reiterated that I was in my second trimester of pregnancy, which was the advised time to perform surgery if absolutely necessary. She explained to me that my ultrasound results show that I have gallstones which could possibly have caused my gallbladder to become

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