Personal Narrative: Back To Illness

I feel a sense of calmness wash over me. My thoughts are peaceful and positive. I am confident and capable. I sleep a deep, healing sleep. I wake in the morning refreshed and renewed.

It’s a struggle to get out of bed sometimes, I often just sit there struggling to comprehend the sequence of events which have taken place over the past year. I mean, I’m used to this now, its normal to me, but the fact that this has happened and that I am now ‘disabled’ as people would put it is hard to get my head around. And every time I look down I’m reminded of the pain and the struggle I faced, it’s a physical scar which links me to my grueling past, a physical and emotional journey.

The Chronic Illness I fight for my health every day in ways most people do not understand I lay in bed struggling just to get up in the morning only to get faced with a new day of troubles. All I think about is the day that being a normal eighteen year old ended for me. I was responsible went to work every day, and was trying to figure out my first year of college until everything was flipped upside down.

Athletic Trainer A couple years back when my mother had back surgery, I would always help her up, which I seemed pretty good at, because she would always say, “Whenever you help me I can never feel it. You are really good at this.” At that time it had gone in one ear and out the other. That’s not until two years ago when my grandmother was really sick, so we had to stay days with her because she couldn’t be by herself. She was sleeping the whole day, so something just told me to wake her up. After I woke her up, she sat up for a few minutes. My family gave her some medicine and then her eyes started rolling behind her head, and she was unresponsive. At that time I rushed and called 911. The whole time I felt as if I was in a daze. At that

Day four of clinicals was really long. The first patient was scheduled from 8 until 1, he was getting fitted for 4 crowns and an implant crown. When the patient came in he had a horrible odor and looked like he hasn’t taken care of himself in months. I seated

After suffering the past four years from multiple concussions with limited help, you begin to feel that recovering is just about impossible. I have essentially been at the same recovery level the past four years with only small improvements in my well-being. The Doctors I had gone to in the

I had such a great day at clinical yesterday. I was finally able to see a vaginal delivery and that entire process. When I arrived in the morning, the mom had just received Cytotec, to help induce labor and ripen her cervix. She was forty-one weeks and zero. Around ten thirty in the morning, she asked for her epidural to manage her pain. We bolused her with fifteen hundred milliliters of lactated ringers to prevent hypotension. Shane was the certified registered nurse anesthesiologist (CRNA) who administered the epidural. It was very cool watching him administer all the needed pain relief medication before he administered the epidural to make sure that it would be placed in the epidural space in the spine. Then administered a small test dose, waited till a few blood pressures were taken, then administered the remaining about through an epidural pump. After the epidural was administered, I was able to administer her foley catheter. I was so happy that I was finally able to place one. I learned a few tricks from Maura (my nurse) as well. She taught me that it was easier to take the top off of the lubricant syringe and to place the tip of the foley inside of the syringe, that way it will not wiggle around and become unsterile. She also taught me to grab from the bottom of the labia and pull up, that way it ensures that I will have a clear entrance to

I believe in healing. I had always seen my pastor and my mom pray for people at church and talk about healing all the time. At church I always hear “prayer changes things” or “If you want to be healed you need you need to have faith” but I didn’t really listen because bad things happen all the time whether you have faith or not. I never really thought about people being healed it until a few weeks ago.

Sometimes I ask myself how I overcame my disease. Many people with lupus experience fatigue, memory loss, loss of appetite. Usually younger African, white, and Asian men and woman develop that disease in their teens. It all started that night when I was laying in my mom bed. At that time I felt like it was my time to leave this earth. When I turn 15 years old I saw so many changes. . I experience so many symptoms while I was in my second semester. All the symptoms that I experience were hallucinations, fever, nausea, and nose bleeds. At that time I seen myself getting really sick. I caught strep throat and it was hard to focus in school because I missed so many days.

I sat at the kitchen counter, staring at the green cabinets and bowls of fruit. I wanted to play in tonight’s soccer game, but my mind was still foggy from the drugs I received in the hospital the day before. I didn’t want my teammates to see me like this. My hair was matted from where my head rubbed against the blue hospital pillow, and a wrinkled piece of clear tape secured a nasal feeding tube onto my cheek. I hated what the tube meant: that I was inadequate and that I couldn’t drink by myself. I was someone who insisted on doing everything on my own, and the thin, flexible tube was a physical reminder that I could not. My mom and dad lauded my bravery, but I dismissed them. I didn’t believe bravery was dictated by necessity.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou

It all started when my Mom went on a retreat at St.Timothy church, when she meet a mother of two girls, Shanna Rodriguez-Torres. We then became close friends and met her daughter Bella, who would change my family's life forever. Bella had been battling a severe case of cancer during this time. When I met Bella she wasn’t famous there wasn't snt any cool socks, or anything, she was your normal sweet girl. Yet she wasn't nt how you thought, she battled cancer at age 4. because of that time she lost many of her memory. She forgot how to walk, talk and other things. The doctors said she would never walk or run again, she showed them she walked in a walker for a short time. Soon, very soon she was running and having a blast. That was few of her

My persona started doing bad when he started hanging out with his friends in the same neighborhood he joined the gang started doing drugs and tagging on the wall so this happened when he burly entered 7th grade until he started noticing that the kids that were seating next to him they live in the same neighborhood as where my persona lives as well. So he started talking to them and started being friends the next day. So the whole year pass and entering 8th grade his friends were making a krew called S.D.K which stands for Sick Demands Krew and so wasn't a be fan of being a gang banger so he rejected the offered so then two months pass and then two kids came up to him and said where you from and luis said no where but then the two kids still

A very close family member was diagnosed with an incurable illness and was detected late. She came and talked to me after a doctor’s appointment, and shared with me that the doctor informed her that the treatment she is on, is not working and there are only four treatments available to control it only. She had tried three of the four treatments without success. And if the last treatment does not work either, the doctor does not know what approach they would take. Her tears started rolling down her face, and for the first time, I did not have any jokes or words. I was able to see and felt her pain and sorrow; she stopped talking and burst to cry. I hugged her and truly told her that I am so sorry and I will be here to support her. I also said

“I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, it goes an equal distance into the world within.” was said by Lillian Smith. In my life this translates to my journey with illness. When the journey began, I was 12 and diagnosed with uveitis, which is inflammation in the