October's gift of a lifetime

October 8th: Was the last day of radiation on my back!! It was the best day ever for me, I went out and bought myself colorful daisies. I was extremely excited to have those days behind me.

October 16th: My port was placed on the right side of my chest. This was the worse day for the nurses to find a vein in my arm. It took them 4 sticks before they finally got one to stay. It happened to be homecoming weekend. Due to the fact that I had an outpatient surgery that day, I was not allowed to drink. But I really wanted to go out. So I went out and had a great time sober. (Thanks to friends who didn't pressure me)

October 26th: I made breakfast muffins for my buddies in my probability class. I was so excited to get to campus. However, my legs decided to give out on me. My legs collapsed as I stepped onto the bus. I soon realized that things were too good. I texted dr d the news, in which she told me to call dr n. I was scheduled for an appointment the next day.

October 25th: My appointment with dr n went south very quickly. The strength in my legs had decreased and due to that result, I needed to be admitted into the hospital that night. I cried for about 5 minutes because I didn't wanna go back into the hospital. As dr d tries to get dr n to admit me the following Monday, I sat there in shock. Dr n told dr d that I needed to be in the hospital by 9pm that night. So we ate dinner and packed my bags for the hospital. Thats when I met my first MALE NURSE!! It was AWESOME! He took a long time to "tal" my port, in which I called him a port virgin (LOL). I was at St. Elizabeth central because I was suppose to getting chemo treatments that following day after my MRI.

October 27th: I woke up to a really nice nurse who told me that it was time for my MRI. I was pushed down to get a scan of my back. Little to my surprise did I think I would see my neurosurgeon that day. He walks in to say that he absolutely had to do major surgery on my spine today. It was noon. I was in the middle of decideing if I wanted soup and salad for lunch or Chik-fi-la. As I sat there shocked, I asked if k could talk to my mom first. He said yes but surgery would take place today. I called my mom who told me to get the surgery. I had to be moved from St. Elizabeth Central to St. Elizabeth East in order to get surgery. I was moved within the next hour and placed in a room in ICU. As 6 different nurses worked on placing EKG machines on me, hooking me up to an IV and asking me questions about my weight and allergies, Dr. Brown walks in, the anesthesiologist. As Dr. Brown asks about my medications, a nurse takes the opportunity to pump me full of morphine. (HAHA morphine is EXTEREMELY powerful). I was then rolled away into surgery where I talked to all my nurses there. When I woke up...
1. I didn't know where I was.
2. I was uncomfortable beyond belief.
3. I was extremely hungry
4. I didn't know who was there.
I got to my room where I knew dr d, dr e, Theretha, amber, Cecil, Ange, and NY dad were there. All I could think about was how hungry I was and how uncomfortable my back was. The nurse asked me what she could do to help me relax and all I could think of was feed me. So she told me all I could eat was Popsicles. So I asked what flavors. She said orange, grape, and red. I said to her red is a color. What is the flavor. (Apparently, I said it in an aggressive tone). Soon after that, they moved all my loved ones out of the room. All I could do was freak out. I was scared because I didn't know what to do. Everyone was gone.

At the end of it all, I soon realized that my neurosurgeon had taken out a racket ball size chunk out of my back and that he had to place 2 titanium togs along my spine and wires on mt vertabrea. It was one of those days that you could've never prepared for but had to be a champ in the long run.

October 28th- November 1st: I spent tin the hospital. With some really great friends who spent the night and brought games to play. I had a special friend stay in the hospital with me the entire time. He didn't leave not one time. (Much respect and love for doing that).