Personal Narrative: Epstein Barr Virus

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 was trying to run as fast as I can from my village. I knew the Black Plague was coming after me. I was only a mile away from the outside of London. My village, Lakonia , everyone died but my dog and I. The year was 1466. I could hear people talking from ahead. After another couple minutes of running, I was in London. No one seemed in pain or infected. I knew this was the place for my dog, Scar, and I, Titan.

Although in the time, I didn’t know if the discord happening within my body. Two weeks after I lost my grandfather, I was dying as well. My blood count was a staggeringly low 5.27, the lowest healthy amount is 12.0. I was rushed to the hospital for a transfusion the day my doctor got the results back. My new doctors at the University of Kentucky Hospital were diligent with my care, yet there were many blanks. They found no sign of Lupus, Leukemia, or other diseases to cause blood deficiencies. Until the term finally came up. GPA. I didn’t know what it was, nor were the doctors sure yet. It only took a day for my team of over ten doctors to figure it out. Constant calls to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and they were finally treating me. High doses of prednisone and iron supplements were what I had to look forward to every morning after coming home. A girl that weighed one-hundred and twenty pounds went to a two-hundred-pound girl in a matter of a few months. My auto-immune disease hasn’t changed my whole life. But it changed my outlook on how precious life is. I found out later that, if I hadn’t been admitted when I was, I would’ve been dead within the week. It was Thursday when I was admitted. How short and precious our lives

It was another day going to Doylestown Hospital. I walked into the gastroenterologist’s waiting room with my mother. It was like any other waiting room, cramped with tired patients, uncomfortable seats, and tattered old Reader’s Digest magazines that just appeared to be there to take up space since no one ever seemed to read them. After a while a friendly looking nurse brought me back the gastroenterologist’s office. I sat in my seat anxiously waiting to see my doctor and hear the results of my liver biopsy, hoping the results would be better than the ones from my upper endoscopy. He then entered the room and took a seat in front of me at his desk, wearing the usual friendly yet at the same time impersonal look on his features.

We both started out in the same place, in an abandoned warehouse in Tampa, Florida. It. was just Anthony and myself, Glenn. On October 13, 2025 the day of the outbreak, Anthony was in a hospital recovering from a head injury. He was asleep when I went to get him out of there. I had to get him out of the hospital, there were creatures walking around the earth with blood on their faces, trying to eat people like Anthony and I. We called these creatures, biters.

Although, certain factors can make someone more susceptible to developing HL. For instance, in 2011 four out of ten HL cases had been exposed to a virus called Epstein Bar Virus beforehand. EBV is a virus related to glandular fever, or mononucleosis. Individuals who have lowered immune systems such as someone who has HIV/AIDS, or taking organ rejection medication may be at higher risk of developing Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Family history may also play a role as a cause for Hodgkin’s, if an immediate member of the patient’s family has had the disease. Research has also shown the increased risk of HL for smokers. (“Risks and Causes,”

This really spoke to me as Caden's team took their first loss of the season. These kids have played their hearts out these last 11 games and I couldn't be more proud of Caden. I reminded him that losing is part of life and as they take the field again on Friday to hold his head high, play hard, and just enjoy himself because in the end I just want him to love the game, the friendships, and have fun because it's just a game and were always proud of him.

The death of the washwoman was a sad one, and mourn we did. My mother cried at night when I was in bed and in the morning she would continue her work like it was a normal day. But as time passed her memory nearly ceased to exist until a spark brought it back. I was heading outside over to the market in order to get some bread when I noticed our clothes hanging on the wire drying. It wasn’t anything abnormal but memories started rushing back. Suddenly pictures and voices came to me and so did the washwoman. I could remember her. The characters of hard work and love came into my mind as I thought of the times when she would come to our house on time and with perfectly washed clothes. My heart sank when I remembered she was dead. Her grave as across the road where almost every dead soul was buried. I hadn’t payed my respects to her in a while so I decided to head over to her grave. As I walked, I read the grave stones. Some showed the death of a six year old and others read thirties or forties. A lot of young children had died in the last four years. The Black Plague, or so they called it, had hit our small town hard. My family had missed it by a miracle from God but almost every family had encountered it. Nearly everyone who had caught it was hopeless. It was a terrible and most frightening disease. After some time walking, I finally came upon the washwoman’s grave. On it, it read,

Epstein-Barr virus was first discovered in 1964 by Sir Michael Anthony Epstein and Ms. Yvonne Barr. They located it in a Burkitt lymphoma cell line. It was the first virus to be associated with cancer. Infection of Epstein-Barr (EBV) is extremely widespread. The National Institutes of Health estimates that roughly 95% of people carry the virus. The virus was later found to cause infectious mononucleosis. Mononucleosis has since been nicknamed the “kissing disease”. Transmission is spread orally, primarily through saliva. Healthy people are able to spread the virus to uninfected people through kissing or sharing food. The virus remains dormant in the body throughout life. For the most part, EBV presents no serious complications other than the cold-like symptoms and glandular fever related to mononucleosis. However, a growing body of evidence indicates that many cancers are directly attributable to EBV. It is also known to play a significant role in the incidence of certain autoimmune and blood diseases.

I am thankful to share that the PET scan indicated that my lymphoma is in remission. Going forward, I will need to see the doctor every few months and be scanned every six. We are praying that I will be cured from this and for continued direction, how does God want us to use what we learned during these past 6 months? God allowed this to happen for a reason and we do not want to forget the lessons He taught us or what He may be calling us to do as a result.

However, by the age five, the virus infects nearly every child in under-developed countries (Britannica, 2014). Typically, when the virus enters the body at a young age, the symptoms are trivial. When infected at a later age, it is more common for infectious mononucleosis (mono) to occur. Mononucleosis is frequently seen during the ages of fifteen to twenty-five and is passed on through saliva (Chamberlain, 2009). In the United States, 70% of 30 year olds have been diseased by Epstein Barr virus (Chamberlain, 2009). When cured, Epstein-Barr virus typically remains in the body because the immune system cannot recognize the virus and kill it off (Chamberlain, 2009). It can stay dormant and later become reactivated. After one’s symptoms become inactive they are typically not seen again, but the individual may infect others that they have interacted with (Nettleman,

I was informed of various forms treatment and prevention, which encouraged me to be proactive in further improving my health. I am now a strong advocate for preventative techniques, such as meditating, eating well, and being active. I also gained a strong appreciation for understanding my condition as a patient. I intend on using my perspective to the benefit of myself as a provider as well as my classmates.

The term that was the most difficult to change is " I am an AIDS victim. This term is the most shocking to me because this syndrome is a chronic potentially life threatening; I might feel week, and close to death. Other terms that are very rude and disrespectful to me are: " I am retarded, I am dummy, I am imbecile." These phrases spread hurt, are offensive and derogatory. I do believe that all people have the right and deserve to be treated respectfully.

After playing the game I got the following results: Round 1;It’s the spaceship for me!, Round 2; I’ll take the silicon!, and Round 3;Letmy body Die!

In this event, the doctor may need to order a series of additional labs and tests to stabilize you and get your symptoms under control.