Second Chance At Life: A Painful Journey...

This past year 2011-2012 has been one crazy year for me.The Summer of 2011 i started getting excruciating pains in my stomach. I had such a high tolerance for pain but this pain was unbearable. There came a point where i wasn't able to walk, eat, or sleep. I refused to go to the hospital because i feared it. I had to suck it up and mov forward. Then this pain occurred every single month. My mom and I started to notice my stomach was petruding out quite a bit which didn't look very normal. Im not small nor am I big so it really was noticeable.My mom wanted me to get checked out so she scheduled a doctors appointment at my pediatricians office. When I went to the doctors they said that what i had been going through was normal. They said that i was suffering from constipation. That isn't very pleasant but that's the news they told me.The doctors said i needed to change my diet and take a certain medicine so that this pain would not occur anymore. I wasn't eating super healthy but i wasn't eating unhealthy. I took the doctors information put it to use and nothing changed i felt weak and useless.Every month at least once or twice that excruciating pain came back and i was extremely ill which caused me to take time off of school and other extra curricular activities. Six months went by and between that time period i went to the doctors at least once a month. Those months went by and eventually the doctor recommended a stomach specialist. I went to the stomach specialist and she said the same thing that the four doctors before her said to me. She wanted me to get a Cat scan and blood work done to try and see what was causing me so much pain. At the moment and time i was experiencing a lot of change. My parents separated after being married 17 years and that was one of the hardest times in my life. It hit me pretty hard and i couldn't get over the realism of it. Because i was going through a rough time i never got those 2 tests done that the specialist wanted me to but my doctors still said it was constipation. My dad moved out of the house in the meantime and went to live with my uncle until my mom could find a place for us to move.In the beginning of March I stopped getting those pains in my stomach but it still petruded out as if i was five months pregnant. Focusing on school was my number one priority and regardless of all of the issues i never let it hold me back.In school everyone would ask me if i was pregnant because my stomach was so big. It really made me self concious and felt like i couldn't go anywhere being judged and looked at funny. I wasn't able to exercise because of the pain and i wasn't about to do what i really love which was dance. Nobody realized how tiring and hard it was to not feel normal and confident in myself. So it was set in the beginning of July we had a new home to move into. It was extremely stressful and hard to leave the other home because i was leaving all of my childhood memories behind. But i knew it was a fresh start and i was so ready for it. A few weeks later i had to get my paperwork and transportation papers filled out because school was not that far away. One of the many papers that had to get filled out was a physical form which required me to go to my pediatrician's office again which i hadn't been to in about six months. My mom made an appointment on August 4th 2012. While getting my physical my mom and i mentioned my stomach problems and how i was still suffering from them. The doctor pushed on my stomach and said she didn't like the way it felt and wanted me to get an ultrasound and a flat plate x-ray done immediately. The fastest we could schedule an appointment was for that wednesday August 8th 2012. Mind you I had gotten an ultrasound about 4 months ago but they told us they hadn't seen a thing. On August 8th 2012 my mom took me to get the tests done to get those tests done.Once i was finished they asked us to sit in the waiting room for a short while. We were very curious as to why they asked us to stay because they never usually do.As we were waiting they called my mom over into a room and said we need you to speak to your pediatricians office. While my mom was on the phone i was very worried as to what was going on. Once she got off the phone I asked her immediately what that phone call was about and she said I will inform you about it once we get into the car. We got into the car and I was very anxious to hear what was going on. She said "Your doctor took a look at the x-rays and ultrasound and she wants you to see a specialist as soon as possible" after she said that i was like okay when does she want me to go. She said she wants you to go to the ER at Childrens Hospital Of Philadelphia.When i heard that i broke out in tears and started to have an anxiety attack. Hospitals were my biggest fear and i didn't know what to expect it had been my first time going actually being the patient. When speaking to my mom on the phone the doctor said she saw 2 masses in my stomach. Once my mom found out she had to take me to the ER she called my dad immediately. Even though my mom and dad were separated they always put their kids first and were there for one another through this time. Once my mom called my dad he met us at the house and we all drove together to The Children's Hospital Of Philadelphia. When we got there i went into a room and they made me change and asked numerous questions.This lady came in who was a speaking specialist and her name was Erin. She calmed me down and made me feel much better about what was going on. I wasn't in any pain what so ever when i arrived at the hospital but my stomach was so large. The doctor came in and felt my stomach and we gave them the x-rays and ultrasound so they could see into more of what was going on. I had so many doctors coming in and asking me endless questions about my stomach and feeling my stomach. I had fallen asleep for quite a bit because i hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. When i woke up i asked my mom if anyone came in and she said just to see how i was doing. Shortly after a doctor came in and said what you have inside of your stomach from what it looks like to us is durmoid cysts(tumors). I didn't know what to say so i said so what are you going to do about them. He said your going to have to get emergency surgery. Immediately i started crying and over reacting. I asked him when i had to get it if it was going to be today or another day. He told me that it was going to be as soon as they could fit me in. I didn't want to get surgery that same day because i was just so overwhelmed with everything i preferred the next day.Doctors still kept coming in asking me questions over and over again and i had to get an IV in my arm which i was scared about cause it had been my first. The surgeon came in and explained to me what was going to happen. They said i had two cysts (tumors) in my stomach. One the size of a football and one the size of a grapefruit. I was so taken back by that. Then she said that there was no room for surgery that day so it would have to be tomorrow. They put me in a room that night and next to me i met a really nice girl that just got surgery and i was telling her (Aleixs) and her mom about what was happening with me and they were very shocked. I stayed the night and they had to change my IV during the middle of the night because the fluids were going in my arm not my vein. So i had to get another one put in by the IV team. That whole time i was there i had to have 4 IV's put in my arms and hands.The next day my nurse Taylor said it was the day of my surgery but they didn't know what time yet and they would let me know 15 min prior to surgery.What i was really scared about was my incision because they said they would have to cut me open like they do for a cesarian and i didn't want to be in pain. It was time to go so i said bye to my friend Alexis because i know i wouldn't see her after surgery because she was going home and i was going into pre op. I got to talk to everyone that was going to be in the room during my surgery. The anestegiologist, two nurses, surgeon, surgeons assistant, someone over looking everyone and another person. I was really nervous before going into surgery so they gave me giggle juice to calm me down. Next thing i know I'm in the operating room and they told to me "alright Keila count to ten" and i counted to two and don't remember anything after that. I woke up in the post op room and my parents were there i didn't even know i had gotten surgery. I went back to my hospital room and i was still on and off of sleep from the anesthesia. I saw my boyfriend walk in the room and it honestly made me extremely happy. He bought me a little bear with a balloon.My mom didn't allow anyone to come see me right after my surgery because she wanted me to rest.Im extremely happy she let my boyfriend Evonte come because it made everything better. My best friend Rachel came to visit as well as family and friends. I stayed in the hospital for about three more days until my pain was controlled and they could put me on oral medicine. On Friday Big Time Rush was at The Children's Hospital Of Philadelphia and so was Cody Simpson. I got to talk to big time rush on the phone and i also got their autograph. Being in the hospital gave me such a different perspective on life. They told me if i hadn't gotten those Durmoid Cysts out of my stomach i could have almost died. I really do believe things happen for a reason and everything that happened in the past year with the separation of my parents and moving saved my life. My life was saved and I'm so grateful for that. Im on this earth for a reason and its because i have a gift to share with the world just as everyone does. For those of you who are in the same position that i was please stay positive always. Don't let anything hold you back. Remember that your health should always come first. Accept was is, let go of what was and have faith in what will be. I hope that reading this you look at your life differently and not take it for granted because we never know whats going to happen.