March 23, 2004
I went to the doctor in East Bridgewater after school for a 3:30 appointment. It was just a physical and I thought I’d just be in and out. It didn’t go quite how I planned. Everything was fine, my weight, my height, blood pressure was kinda high cuz I was nervous, but it went down by the end of the visit. You’d think I’d just go home and never think about it again. Then they did the finger prick and I thought it would be okay, done and over with. But after testing my hemoglobin, they came back to do it again. I had low iron and the results of the hemoglobin was 7.5 and normal is between 12 and 18. The second time was even lower, 5.2. Dr. Fernandez came in and talked to us about it. She said I should be on iron supplements and she wanted me to go to the Brockton Hospital for blood work, and urine and stool samples. Also, she wanted to get my stomach x-rayed, and said that people with my condition can barely walk and I’m doing really good. I had no symptoms and I looked perfectly fine, aside form being pale.
Mom made and appointment for the x-rays on March 30 at 8:00am, no school for me! And we went to the hospital, all of us, that day and they took blood and urine, and gave me a bucket for stool. Then we went home.
At the time, I had no idea what was going on, I just knew something had to be wrong, I just wasn’t sure what, nobody was, so I kind of ignored it for the time being.
~*~
March 24, 2004
I was too scared to stool the night before, but after mom left for work, I went and called her and Nanny and Bubby brought it to work for her. I went to school like any other day and thought nothing of anything. When I got home, we went to CVS to get the iron and stool softener. I got home and had to take the iron. It was orange and smelled okay, but it tasted nasty! It took me a while to actually take it cuz I read the bottle and it said one of the side affects was nausea. Mom had to sort of threaten me to get me to take it. She told me if I didn’t take it, things could get worse and instead of just drinking the nasty stuff before the x-ray, I’d have to have something stuck down my throat and up my ass to get pictures, or have to stay overnight in the hospital. That did it, nothing was going down my throat and there was no way I was going anywhere overnight. So I took it and it was nasty. Then I had to take the stool softener which was worse. The only reason I had the stool softener in the first place was because iron is said to be constipating, so my mom wanted me to have it.
Nothing much happened for a few days, everything was normal and I thought I was on the road to getting better.
The urine and stool had been tested and my stool had blood in it. GREAT!
~*~
March 27, 2004
I had been fine for days, but then my stomach hurt all day! All I did was lay in my room watching movies with Mikey or lay on the couch watching movies with Mikey. I was really tired and kinda hungry, but that’s pretty much it.
~*~
March 28, 2004
Wasn’t much better than the day before. Only today, my head hurt and I was dizzy every time I got up from the couch or my bed. After awhile the dizziness and lightheadedness would go away, but it was still there.
~*~
March 29, 2004
This is the day everything started to happen. I stayed home from school cuz I was really tired and still dizzy. I also had just gotten my period, so aside from the blood I’m already losing, I’m losing more! So mom let me stay home, and I figured it would be okay to miss two days in a row, no big deal. So I stayed home and watched The Lion King all day. Not just the movie, but played games, watched behind the scenes footage, music videos by Elton John, wrote the lyrics to Timon’s verse in Hakuna Matata, and drew pictures off the screen. I called mom a few times cuz I was lonely and she told me she scheduled and appointment for the doctor in EB for 2 and her and Grandpa would come pick me up. I was drawing a picture of Timon when they got there.
At the doctor, they pricked my finger again and tested my hemoglobin. I had been on the iron for a week and it was lower, 4.6! Dr. Fernandez was really worried about me. Before she came in and after the nurse took my blood, I was talking to mom in the room. She said I might have to stay over at the Brockton Hospital. I really didn’t want to and I even started crying and mom hugged me. I haven’t cried in so long, well, since Katja anyway. When Dr. Fernandez came in, she said she wanted me to go in-town, as in Boston, to the Mass General ER and she’d send all my paperwork so they’d be expecting me. And in my condition, they’d probably get me in really fast. Then she even said they might want to keep me overnight.
So, with all that in mind, I made it all the way home before I cried again while I was packing for a couple days. Mom was packing too, she was gonna stay with me, never leaving! I was taking pictures of the cats to bring with me and in mom’s room with Cranny. He started cuddling with me and I felt a little better.
Dad got home around 4 after mom called and told him not to go to the thing he was going to cuz I had to go to Boston. The DVD’s we order finally came, Mouse Hunt, The Birdcage and The Lion King Sing Along Songs. Mikey opened Mouse Hunt and it was empty, so dad ordered another one. I watched Yummy, Yummy, Yummy before I left. I put the bracelets Ahdemn got me and the Jack Skelington ring on my bracelet with the rabbit foot and health thing, just for good luck.
We left around 5 and got lost a couple times. It was fine with me cuz the more lost we got, the more time it would take to get there and I really didn’t wanna go. We did eventually get there and I got right in. there wasn’t any room on the pediatric side of the ER so I was with a bunch of old people who were all hacking and stuff. The lady next to me even threw-up, not what I wanted after a hard day of doctors, nurses, needles, and by then I even had an I, and it was around 12-1am. NOT FUN!
We were there forever! First, they did my blood pressure and talked to my mom about what was wrong with me. They told me to take it easy and lay down if I had to. It was really weird because I felt fine and everyone was treating me like I was really sick. I mean, I was but I just didn’t feel it. Anyway, then we sat in the waiting room for about half an hour and I got an ID band with my Blue Card number on it. Eventually we were taken back to the ER and a doctor came in, she was really nice, I forget her name, but I really liked her. Me and mom told her everything and then she touched my stomach and asked me the drug and pregnancy questions, as they all did, and had me put on a johnny.
Then another doctor came in to ask all the same questions so we had to tell everything again. She also tried to take my blood, it didn’t work cuz I was nervous and didn’t even have much to begin with. She tried my right arm and moved the needle around, but couldn’t get anything. Then another nurse came in and tried again. She looked at both my arms, then my hands and decided to try my left. She got enough for one test and my hand bruised immediately. Her name was Kendra and I’ll never forget her name-that hurt like a bitch!
They still needed more blood so they gave me a hot wash cloth to try to make the veins in my right hand come out. Then they all left me alone for a while. Mom helped me hold it on my hand and we had to wet it a few more times. It had been about an hour and a half and we just gave up. Mom went to see Dad and Mike and brought them back. So, we all just waited around. Then they came back to try again, but I didn’t have any veins they could get. Eventually, they got the first doctor to come in and take my blood. It wasn’t easy, she had to suck it out of my arm! They got enough blood for all the tests they needed to take and put an IV in my arm then again left me alone for a few hours. Mom was pretty sure they’d keep me cuz they put the IV in, I was just hoping they were doing it just in case and I really could go home. Oh well, it was worth a try.
So, by now, it’s about 10-11pm. I’m really tired and Mikey’s really bored so you know how he is. I was really thirsty too. I wasn’t able to eat or drink anything after 9pm for the test at 8am the next day. Mom didn’t want me to have anything in case I could go home, even though she doubted I would. Between 11:30-1is they said they wanted me to stay. Mike and Dad left and me and Mom were alone. Another really nice nurse came and got me some water and Mom some Ginger Ale. Mom finally let me have water and she needed some kind of caffeine to keep her awake. It was around this time that the lady next to me had to throw up, so now you can just imagine how fun that was! I had an IV in my left arm, my water in my right hand and nothing to cover my ears with. I tilted my head to the left and tried to cover my right ear with the hand with the water and hum so I couldn’t hear anything. That didn’t work so I put the water down and covered my ear and even bent my left arm to cover my other ear. It hurt a little but it was worth it.
The nurse came back and hooked me up to the IV about an hour before we got a room. I was so scared of the IV and I really didn’t want a room, I just wanted to go home! I started crying again, it was just way too much! Mom hugged me again. About 3am they brought me to my room. When we got to the 18th floor, they brought me to 1830B and I got in bed. I had the whole room to myself and mom got her own bed. The blood in my stool could be contagious so I couldn’t have a roommate, thank god, I wasn’t ready for that, I wasn’t ready for any of it, but at least all I had was my mom! The nurse came in, her name was Daisy, she was really nice. She fixed the IV cuz it wasn’t working right and put the bowls in the toilet cuz they had to check my urine and stool every time for blood. Obviously they were gonna find it cuz I had my period, but they did it anyway, and they had to make sure I wasn’t contagious so they needed to test it.
~*~
March 30, 2004
I don’t have to tell you I didn’t get much sleep, it’s kinda obvious. Mom fell asleep before me so I figured I’d rather be asleep than all alone in a hospital room. I fell asleep by 4ish and was up by 7. Not a very good night sleep. I woke mom up cuz I had to go to the bathroom and I couldn’t do it by myself with the IV cuz it was plugged into the wall, I had a heart monitor and a thing on my finger to check something. So, we stayed up after that and watched the news. A nurse came in to check my temperature and blood pressure. It was a guy, Lianne would be jealous, his name was Jeff and he was really nice.
I don’t really remember much of what happened that day. They gave me iron, I met new people, the people from the play area. They told me they had games and movies. We got some cards to play with cuz mom wanted to get them. I didn’t want anything but to GO HOME! I didn’t want to be there and I think it was pretty obvious. We got the movie list and got two movies, The Perfect Storm and Riding In Cars With Boys.
For breakfast, they brought me a bagel and corn pops. I didn’t want it, but mom made me eat it, and it wasn’t that bad.
Jeff and other nurses came in to check my temperature and Blood pressure throughout the day. I even got to meet one of my doctors! His name was Dr. Peter Ngo. He seemed okay at first, but only because he hadn’t done anything to me yet. First mom just told him everything -again- and then he touched my stomach -like everybody else- but then he stuck his finger up my ass! That was it, I hated him! I know he had to but, I just couldn’t stand him after that. Then to make things worse, he said I had to have an upper and lower GI, when they stick the thing down my throat and up my ass, along with the x-rays. The one thing I didn’t want to do, and they were making me do it. I even asked if there was any way they could not do it, but he said it would be the best way to get the right information. I tried really hard not to, but I cried. Damnit!
So, he went to schedule the procedure, which I would have to be under anesthesia for, another thing I did NOT want to do. I convinced myself I wasn’t gonna do it, but I knew in the back of my mind he’d be back. And I was right, he came back to say I’d have the procedure done Thursday because the anesthesiologist wouldn’t be in Wednesday. So, I had a whole friggin’ day to worry about it. I hate him!
I just watched tv, ate a little and went to the bathroom all day. I had to eat while they’d still let me. I was on a liquid diet as of 12am Wednesday morning, then I couldn’t eat or drink at 12am Thursday morning.
Dad and Mike came around 6, just as Friends came on, perfect timing all week. They brought the DVD player, Birdcage, Bill Cosby Himself, and some other stuff. Brother Bear came out today and Mikey brought that and we watched it while mom and dad went to the Cafeteria. They came back with food and the French fries smelled really good, but I couldn’t have any! They left around 8 and we just watched tv.
That night, Daisy was back and gave me some medicine in a shushed orange Popsicle to make me go to the bathroom, they were trying to clean me out so they could see better. Me and mom watched Riding In Cars With Boys. It wasn’t really good, but Lianne told me to watch it, so I did. Mom fell asleep towards the end, but then I had to go to the bathroom so I woke her up after the movie. We stopped the movie and kept the tv on all night, again. I fell asleep around 12:30-1am.
~*~
March 31, 2004
I got up around 7 and woke mom up for bathroom duty. Then we stayed up and watched the news again. More nurses came in to take my temp and blood pressure. The heart monitor things kept falling of, so I just took them off, along with the finger thing.Then mom made me take a shower.
I had jell-o for breakfast! FUN! Me and mom watched tv all day. Then the nurse brought in the drink. I had to drink it for the GI thing, it was gonna clear me out. it tasted really nasty! I mixed it with red Gator Aid and had some grape Popsicle after it. I was done within 3-4 hours. Then I met the anesthesiologist. I also got to meet Dr. Hardy, he was really nice and I liked him a lot more than Dr. Ngo. After that, I got to relax and watch tv.
They had taken out my IV for a while and when they put it back in, it hurt really bad, and my arm was starting to get puffy. So they called the IV nurse in to get another one. This one was put in my right arm and it didn’t hurt, afterward.
Dad and Mike came around 6, again, this time with Nanny who had grape nut pudding. I had Friends on the tv while Mom, Mike, and Dad went to the Cafeteria. I talked to Nanny for a while and then they came back. Mikey was watching Bill Cosby himself on mom’s bed with mom’s tv and eventually we were all watching it. They left around 8 and me and mom watched tv. Mom had to give herself a shot because she forgot to have dad do it before he left. We watched tv until 12am when I took my last sip of water.
~*~
April 1, 2004
The procedure was scheduled for 1 so I had a few hours to wait when I got up around 7 or 8. Me and mom played Friends Trivia and Rummy while watching The Perfect Storm. They came in to tell me there were two people they had to do first, so it would be around 2. So, we kept playing Rummy until they came to take me away. I started to feel like I was gonna cry, but I kept it in. I was determined not to. The we got to the 4th floor and they hooked me up to the IV down there and I couldn’t hold it anymore. They gave me the “happy juice” and rolled me into the room. Then they put this thing in my nose and mom started talking about the cats. That’s all I remember. Next thing I knew, I was in another room, mom was next to me and I had another IV in my right hand, along with two other pokes of failed attempts.
Once they saw I was awake, they brought me back upstairs where I went tot the bathroom and got into bed. I was still pretty dizzy and tired, and having a roommate wasn’t what I wanted to come back to. When I got into bed, I didn’t go back to sleep but rested and watched tv. They left me alone the rest of the day besides taking my temperature and blood pressure.
Mike and Dad came around 7, again, just as Friends was starting. They brought The Lion King, How to Deal, The Lion King Sing Along Songs, Aladdin, and The Goofy Movie, along with more clothes. Me and Mikey watched The Lion King while mom and dad went to the Cafeteria, and again the french fries smelled really good, but I wasn’t even gonna try. They left around 8:30 and me and mom watched tv. I fell asleep around 10:30, there was no reason to stay up ‘til 12.
Mom pulled out the chair into a bed and had to sleep on that.
They had unhooked the IV in my arm and when they put it back in that night, it hurt really bad. Then they tried the one in my hand, and it still hurt. So they got the IV nurse again and took out the IVís in my hand and arm. The new IV went in my right wrist me and mom played Rummy and Friends Trivia again. Later, they unhooked the IV
~*~
April 2, 2004
I got up around 8 and had to go to the x-ray thing. They made me drink this nasty chalky taste. Everyone had been telling me it tasted chalky, I just didn’t know what they meant, now I do. It was horrible. They took some before pictures and then I had to drink the rest of the cup while walking around to get the liquid to my colon. We walked around the whole 2nd floor. It was pretty fun, but I got tired after about 2 hours. I got to meet Dr. Winter, who I was supposed to see in a few weeks at Brockton. He was really nice.
They got the pictures and mom wheeled me back to the 18th floor. I was back by 12ish and watched tv the rest of the day. I played Rummy with mom again. Nurses came in to check my temperature and blood pressure. My roommate was having her treatment which involves hitting her back and she starts coughing. So, since I was able to walk around, me and mom went to the Cafeteria and I finally got the Papa Gino’s Pizza I’d wanted all week. We went to the gift shop to, but I was kinda tired and I had the IV with me so we went back upstairs.
The nurse came to take more blood, this time to match it up for a transfusion. The nurse tried to find a vein, since they couldn’t use the IV. She found one, but right when she was about to stick it, it went away. So, she called the IV nurse and she looked for a vein. She couldn’t find one that hadn’t been beat up already, and said she might have to try my feet. Mom suggested trying the pace the nurse had tried since she did find a vein, but it disappeared. She did and got it, after telling us that I can make my veins hide. All this was done on the outside of my left wrist where a huge bruise formed, right below the one Kendra gave me, same vein too.
Anyway, that night, they unhooked my IV around 3, waking me up in the process, and hooked me up to blood. I had two packs and it took from 3am to 12pm to empty them.
~*~
April 3, 2004
I got up around 9:30 and watched tv all day. After the blood was done, they put me back on the IV and I played Rummy and Friends Trivia with mom. Later, they unhooked my IV so I took a shower, then me and mom went to the Cafeteria again and had more pizza! Then we went to the gift shop and got little cards, candy, and two slinky’s. Then we went back to the room and watched How To Deal. Then we watched Aladdin and The Goofy Movie while playing Rummy.
Mike and Dad came around 6 or 7 with Grammy and Grandpa. I still didn’t have the IV and my roommate had a bunch of people over. So, we all went to the Cafeteria, stopping by the sunroom to go to the bathroom cuz I didn’t wanna go with so many people in the other room. Then mom was finally able to go too. So we all waited in the sunroom, which was very rainy, and went downstairs when mom got out.
I had pizza, of course, and we sat down to eat. Me and Mikey were laughing while he recited Bill Cosby Himself. Before we went back up, me and mom got cheesecake. When we got back up, people were leaving so it was quieter in the room. When Mike, Dad, Grammy, and Grandpa were leaving, I went down and walked them out with mom. I couldn’t go outside so I waited by the big windows for mom to come back in. Grammy and Grandpa said I looked really sad in the window, and dad called when he got home cuz he forgot to say good night and good bye and give me a hug.
Me and mom watched The Birdcage when we got back up, dad called in the middle of it. When it was over, mom was already half asleep and I fell asleep between 11 and 12. I put my headphones on cuz my roommate was hacking, she was a cancer patient. In the middle of the night, well, morning, I had to go to the bathroom and I was still unhooked so I went by myself. When I came back, mom was up and looking at the floor. When I had gotten up, my CD player fell off the bed and woke her up. It broke too, so I plugged in the DVD player so I could listen to it through that. The only problem was, the CD stopped after it was done, there was no repeat, so I woke up every once in a while to press play again.
~*~
April 4, 2004
I got up around 10-10:30, mom was watching the news. The nurse came in to take my temperature and blood pressure, and then she told me I had an appointment for blood work the next morning. Me and mom had just been talking about the possibility of leaving today and she has to go and ruin my day. Mom wasn’t even there when she told me, she was getting something out of the fridge or something. When she came back, I told her, then we played Rummy while watching tv. Then Dr. Ngo and Dr. Hardy came in to talk to me. Dr. Ngo touched my stomach some more and Dr. Hardy said I looked a lot better, I had more color in my face and my lips were redder. Then, he said I might be able to go home TODAY! (another reason I like him more!) my mom told him about the blood work tomorrow and he talked to the nurses and everyone started getting me ready to leave.
We called dad and he was there around 12. The nurse, who was really nice, I’d had her for 2-3 days, came in with the papers about my prescription and discharge. I looked at the discharge paper and it said 1:44pm, I wasn’t in the hospital anymore, and just to prove my point, I peed in the toilet instead of the bucket. HA! I was dressed, packed, and ready to go by 12:30, and we left!
~ a couple things happened that I’m not sure about the dates~
Med flight came in a million times right by window, it was so cool!
I called Janine and Ahdemn since I got their numbers before I left.
There were three baseball fields out the window. There were people playing Frisbee, throwing the ball, and there was even a practice.
The Charles River was right out my window too and we watched the boats and sailboats along the river.
The Science Museum was on the right.
Fenway Park was way over on the left.
Looking out the window at night was so amazing, the lights, the river, the view was just breathtaking.
I actually had fun, it was what I asked for, something different, new and exciting. Interesting huh?
~*~
(April 15, 2004)
I have no idea what I did when I got home, I think I changed and sat on the couch. Oh, we went to Grammy and Grandpa’s right from the hospital. Then we went home and I think I got Wendy’s fries.
The whole next week, I stayed home. Mom stayed with me until Wednesday. We watched a bunch of movies and mom got my Prednisone and Prevacid at the hospital on Monday while I slept on the couch.
Auntie Brenda, Heather, and Kacey came over Tuesday before I went to school to get my work.
I did most of my work on Wednesday after watching I Am Sam.
I got new shoes at the Westgate Mall on Thursday and talked to Ahdemn on the cell phone on the way there.
Friday there was no school anyway so I wasn’t missing anything. My eye started to twitch on Friday, my right eye. Also on Friday, I hooked up the VCR in the living room so me and Mikey could watch movies! It’s gotten worse since, but mom says it’s the Prednesone.
Saturday was Dad’s birthday, him and mom went out for dinner, I had mashed potatoes.
Sunday was Easter and Nanny and Dad’s birthday party. There was huge dinner and I ate everything even though I wasn’t hungry, it’s the Prednesone. It was really good though.
Monday I went back to school. I didn’t wear any makeup or black. Everyone said I looked different. It was kinda nice to be back. We watched movies in the dark that were really boring and I got tired pretty fast. I didn’t even do my social studies homework, the only homework that did get done was done at school and it was only one subject. I slept from 4:30-6.
Tuesday I went to school again and watched more boring movies. It was raining outside, the room was dark, the movie was black and white and had no point! Again I was tired. When I got home, I had a doctor’s appointment at EB and my hemoglobin was 11.4!!!!
Now yesterday, was interesting. I had an appointment in Boston at 8am. I got up at 4:45, washed my hair, got dressed, and left at 5:30. Bubby drove us to the train station and we got on at 5:45. We were in South Station Boston by 6:50ish. Then we found the Red Line that would take us to Charles Street. Then we walked around the corner to Mass General. It was around 7 when we got there, so we had breakfast in the Cafeteria. I had a hospital bagel. Thomas’s Bagels are good, but hospital bagels are really good, I don’t know what it is, but it’s good. We got to the 7th floor by 7:45ish and mom filled out papers. Then Dr. Ngo came out to get me. We talked about the medicines I was on, the medicines he was gonna put me on, and for how long and what they’d do. They checked my blood pressure, height, and weight. Then I had to have more blood taken, it came out willingly this time.
Then we went back on the Red Line and got on the Green Line that would take us to the Museum of Science. We put our jackets away, and went looking. First we went to see the new T-Rex and then went to the Lightening Show, The Dinosaur Show, and then the Omni Theater. In between, we looked at a 2040 year old tree, had lunch, and went to the gift shop. I got tired pretty quick. And I didn’t feel too good either, I hadn’t gone to the bathroom all day aside from peeing a million times. I felt like this before the Omni theater and after we ate, so going into the omni probably wasn’t the best idea. I closed my eyes through the end of it, it was just too much. When we got out, I was really tired, I almost fell asleep in the theater, and I had to go to the bathroom. So, we went to the gift shop to buy stuff and walked to the Green Line. I felt a little better after getting in the fresh air and burping a few times.
So, we got on the Green Line, then the Red Line, then walked to the Purple Line at South Station. We got there at 4 and it was just in time to catch the 4:15 train. If we didn’t get that one, we’d have to wait ’til 5:05, not gonna happen without me dying. The train was a double-decker and we were on top. The ride seemed so long but we finally got home and I went in the bathroom. I couldn’t go, but I had gas, which helped a little. Then I had my Prevacid and Prednesone, and mom made spaghetti. I went to the bathroom and had more gas and talked to Janine, Sondra and Alex online. I told Sondra and Alex about the hospital and Janine and me just talked cuz she knows everything. It was fun to talk to Alex again, he said he wants to hang out during April Vacation. He also asked if I was still going out with Ahdemn, I think he’s jealous, I shouldn’t be happy about it, but I can’t help it. I mean, sure, Ahdemn’s my boyfriend, I guess, but I’ve known and had a crush on Alex for 6 years. Anyway, I went to bed at 9 and got up at 7.
My alarm clock didn’t go off and no one came to wake me up so I had to investigate. Mom said I didn’t have to go to school. I get to rest all day. I haven’t exactly been resting, but I’m not doing much of anything and I haven’t been eating all day. So, I guess that’s all for now.
Oh and Heather had Sean this morning!
-kel
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