Saturday, February 13, 2010

A tiny part of me...

Wednesday was my three year anniversary of being sick. I have been asked by people why I remember it and the reason is that I changed a lot in that time. Honestly before getting sick, I was gossip, a good student, and not overall a strong person. I would cry about simple and useless things. Now, it take soul twisting moments to make this happen, I cry about things that actually matter. I have never actually written what happened and I am going to to do that now, because I am getting better.
It was a normal day on February 9th, 2007. I had just finished my first round of finals in high school. The next day at 4am, I woke up with extreme pain and I was unable to walk. it felt like a knife was being shoved into my stomach. My parent though that it was the flu. I had a flu like this, when I was younger. I was having fevers of over 104 and verily eating. I had to sleep sitting up, otherwise I would scream in pain for the whole night. I had to get help to go the bathroom, getting dressed, and walking. I honestly thought that I was going to wake up dead. The doctor that I saw, was f sure that it was appendicitis. I was rushed to the hospital and had surgery. The next day, I felt the same. Later that week, I went for my surgery check up. I was still having a pain and he said that was normal and that I should try to walk more.
Later that week, I went to see my doctor and she did tons of blood work. I was tested for AIDS, Lupus, RA, and pretty much every disease under the sun and also had me get an MRI. It turned out that my white count was really high and there was a mass on my MRI by the pelvis. With a fever, high white count, and a mass on a MRI, there are only a few things that it could be and on the top of the list is an infection.
After the weekend, I was admitted into the hospital, because they had no clue, what was causing a list of symptoms. My older sister Nicole, came everyday, even on her 18Th birthday, which she brought me a breakfast. My younger siblings came with my dad when they could, but I didn't want them to miss Work or School on my account. An orthopedic doctor finally found out that I had abscess in my right psoas major muscle. The psoas muscle is pretty deep and just above your hip bone. It controls a lot of the lifting that you do with your legs. I went in for an exploratory surgery and they came to a conclusion that it would be risky to open me up. They decide on doing a CAT Scan insertion tube procedure. Since it would be less invasive and I would heal from it more quickly. For the next fifteen days I wasn't allowed to shower and still had to get help walking.
I came home the day before my mom's birthday. I still had to sleep upright and most foods made me sick. I returned to school on March 23rd. I had missed over a month of AP Classes and was still in pain. On April 15th, they figured out that I had Reactive Arthritis in my right hip and I stopped going to school until Sept 2009. I was told to see a Rheumatologist. It took over a month to wait for that appointment and during that time, my uncle died. This was added stress on the family and I think that February 10th just brings a reminder of what is to come. Anyways, when I went to my doctor. I was put on Prednisone, which is an evil medicine that makes you gain weight like you are eating a few pounds of bacon a day. In August of that year, my Rheumatologist figured out that all of my Immunoglobulins were very low. There are five major types of Immunoglobulins: IgA, IgE, IgG, IgD, and IgM. Each of these antibodies are severely important to how the body is ran. Luckily, I found an amazing doctor that found out what was wrong with me. It is Common Variable Immunodeficiency that is caused by severe hypogammaglobulinemia(lack of antibodies). I started getting infusions in January 2008 and will continue to get them every 2-4 week. I still am at high risk for infection and cancer, but I believe that I can make it through.
During this time, I really found what I love. Reading has always been a passion of mine and I discovered that I was to write for living. I also found the wonderful world of book blogging. I am not saying that I am happy that I got sick, but I have met some of my best friends from it and tons of other amazing people. I also want to thank everyone for their support, because it means so much. I seriously appreciate it.

18 comments:

  1. I'm sorry you're sick. I know that sounds lame, but I mean it. I think it must be so hard to get sick (chronically sick) as a child or teenager, because for years you've had this whole other HEALTHY PERSON life and then it's just pulled away from you. I don't know if your illness is one that can be cured (or just treated), but if it can I hope it is. I admire the way you deal with things... I think being "sick" has actually made me MORE of a crier, not less, and I'm glad it worked the opposite with you. :)

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  2. You have taken a bad situation and turned it into a positive. Good for you. You seem to have the right attidude about life, keep you chin up.

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  3. Oh, Sarah. ((((((hugs)))))) What a lot you've been through. It's amazing you were able to find something positive in all this. You're my new hero.

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  4. Hi Sarah :)
    Thank you for haring such a heartfelt post.
    I can only empathize the pain and helplessness you must have felt until you were properly diagnosed.
    I love your spirit!
    Love & Best Wishes,
    Rob

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  5. wow Sarah. you've had quite a time, haven't you. I'm so glad you found something you love. Keep it up because we all love you! ~Haley

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  6. Wow, Sarah, thanks for sharing this with us. For you to open up like this shows that you are a very strong person :)
    I cannot imagine what you must have gone through.
    I agree with you on this: that the friends you make through the book blogging world will be there always, and I'm happy about it too.
    You're an inspiration!
    xoxo,
    Ella

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  7. what a strong person you are Sarah. I've always loved you! and now i do even more! I have only the upmost respect for you as a person and admire you for finding the light in a situation that was so dire. Not many people can claim to or would do that in your situation.

    Totally agree with Ella... you are an inspiration!

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  8. I have become very aware recently of many people who have experienced what they thought was a major trial which, in reality, turned out to be a huge blessing.

    Kudos to you for becoming so strong through all that you've suffered through. I'm glad that you found your love for writing!

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  9. Thanks for sharing your story with us, Sarah. You are so brave for posting about your illness and you have so much courage and strength for going through all this and remaining positive. I'm glad you found blogging--you're right, it is a wonderful world. Just know that so many people are keeping you in their thoughts. I admire you so much.

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  10. What an amazing story, Sarah, thanks for sharing it with us. SO glad you're doing better!

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  11. I've always sensed such inner strength in you, Sarah, and when we met in Washington, it was obvious that you also have a warm and loving heart. If anyone can turn a situation like this into something positive, it's you, and I have total faith in your ability to live a long, happy life AND to become a writer. I can't wait to watch you live all your dreams.
    <3

    MZ

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  12. You poor thing! I can't imagine how awful it would be to have to deal with a situation like that on a day to day basis. Kudos to you for staying positive AND for being able to maintain an awesome blog. I wish you a lot of happy reading in the future! :)

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  13. You're very strong for pulling through and keeping such a positive attitude. I admire that a lot Sarah. I'm really sorry that you had to go through this. Health issues are such a terrible thing. :( I like how you mentioned in the beginning about how you used to complain about every little thing. That really struck me because it's so true. We never know how lucky or fortunate we are until something is taken away.

    You really are such a sweet person Sarah and I wish you all the best.

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  14. Sarah, you are inspiring! All the best to you.

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  15. If anyone can turn a situation like this into something positive, it's you, and I have total faith in your ability to live a long, happy life AND to become a writer.

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  16. Sarah, thanks for sharing this with me. You've had to overcome so much at such a young age. I hope you are doing much better now and that you NEVER have to go through something like that again.

    Hugs.

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  17. Sarah, your post is a testament to how strong people can be. Thank you for sharing what you have been through. I'm sure that wasn't easy to do. Your positive attitude is inspiring, and it will not only help you on your road to recovery but to achieve all of your dreams.

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Thanks for visiting. Every comment creates a smile.

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