Ten Years Free // Part 1 of 3

It was May 14th at 4 a.m. when I walked to my parents' room, bowl in hand, so tired of what I'd been going through.
"Mom, Dad. I don't feel good."
"What do you want us to do for you?"
"I don't know."

What happened next started us on journey that would last the rest of the summer but affected our family for much longer. Almost dying can do that do you.

This story starts a few days earlier, on May 11th. I was supposed to be going to a Tigers game with one of my best friends, her dad, and my grandpa. We had tickets on the first base line, just a few rows back from the field. This was before the nets were up so they were prime, prime seats and I was really excited. Unfortunately, the game was rained out. Since we were already downtown, we went to dinner. I believe we went to Cheli's Chili Bar. At some point that day, I started not feeling well. Looking back, pizza probably wasn't the best meal choice, but I was a picky kid. As the night went on I felt worse and worse yet I tried to hide it because I wanted to still spend the night with my friend, not go home with my grandpa.

While we were at the restaurant, I went to the bathroom. I don't remember if I actually threw up or just felt like I needed to. My friend came to check on me. I don't remember what was said, exactly, but I was probably convincing her that I was fine to still spend the night. I went home with her and her dad and we had our sleepover. I did throw up at her house, but didn't tell anyone. I thought I just had an upset stomach. Later on, her mom was kind of "mad" at me for getting sick and not telling her :) You want to know what the est part of not feeling well that night whas? I got out of trying the calamari her dad ordered at dinner!! (Like I said, I was a picky kid).

The baseball game was rescheduled for the next day and my mom, dad, and brother ended up going. I still regret not feeling well enough to go. Great seats and they won the game too! I stayed with my little brother and Grammy and we watched on the TV, trying to spot our family.

That week, I fell into a cycle. I sat around because I was tired. I wasn't feeling well so I wasn't eating much. Not eating means no energy. It all made sense and my mom and I assumed I'd be fine in a few days.

Then May 14th happened. I was so tired of not feeling well. Of feeling like I was going to throw up all the time. I tried not to cry as I talked to my parents. While their response might seem not very sympathetic, you have to remember that I'd not been feeling well for several days. We didn't have anything left to do or try. I knew that, but at the same time, they were my parents and I was sick and tired and upset. And when a kid is sick, tired, and upset, they go to their parents, even if they know there isn't anything that can be done.

"What do you want us to do for you?"
"I don't know."

The next thing I know, I'm on the floor. The mood lights are on in my parents' room and they are hovering over me. I reach for my bowl and throw up. But I'd hardly eaten anything for days so my parents were concerned that what was in the bowl was dark. It looked like blood.

You know how in movies, when stuff is happening quickly in action sequences, it's often flashes here and there? That's what my memories of the beginning of all this is like. 10 years dulls memories but the main events, the main impressions, they're all still there.

My dad picked me up and carried me to the car. I fainted several times just on the way from their room to the car. My mom got my Oma to come over to stay with my brothers and we were on our way to the ER.

I lay in the car with my seat far back because it felt better. I remember getting to the hospital. I rode in a wheelchair. Some of my memories are filled in with accounts my parents told me, but the ER was not responding super quickly, something about filling out paperwork, when I passed out in the wheelchair. Suddenly the paperwork could wait.

For the next while, all I have are the flashes. I'm not even sure I have the order right. There was a room they wheeled me into with a large machine and I had to lay under it. Probably a scan of some sort. I was taken into a small room and given a transfusion. They had figured out that I needed blood. All told, I received three bags of blood, though it was one transfusion. Sometime in here we were told that my hemoglobin was very low, though they didn't tell us how dangerous it was. I remember really wanting to call my friend, the one I had spent the night with a few days prior, but it was 5 a.m. so Mom told me I probably should wait :) I rode in an ambulance to another hospital. I spent some time in a curtained cubicle, not really a real room. Dad had left at some point to go home and I'd asked him to bring back my purse. These are the random things I remember but I had this butter knife pocket knife and they didn't allow it in the hospital. Go figure. The friend I'd wanted to call came by with her mom to see me on their way to see family. She and her mom were really worried and I remember trying  to reassure her that I was fine. I was touched but not really getting why they were so upset but my mom says that if I had seen how I looked, I'd understand. Still, I was so glad she came. I really was wanting to see her.

At the second hospital, I was put in a real room all by myself. I guess it was ICU. My mom and I spent the night in the hospital and my dad went home to be with the boys.

It's been about 24 hours and to my knowledge, we still did not know what exactly was wrong.