Things people take for granted...

When I was sick, I grew extremely jealous of the little things in life. When I could not walk yet, and was forced to go to the mall in the wheel chair, I thought to myself, "Why can't I do the easy task of walking back and forth to the stores." I felt this way only for a short time, but in reality, people with severe illnesses feel as I did all the time. One of my aunts suffers from MS and is now restrained to her wheel chair at all times. I related to her when I too could not walk and it was very difficult. As I began to improve and was finally able to walk again, my aunt unfortunately grew jealous, because as I was improving, she was doing the opposite. It is very upsetting, but I guess that's just life. Here is a list of things that people normally take for granted, never thinking twice about:

1.)Walking around the house
2.)Sitting up in a chair by yourself
3.)Climbing a set of stairs
4.)Feeding yourself a meal
5.)Bathing yourself
6.)Dressing yourself
7.)Going shopping with friends
8.)Driving
9.)Being able to go outside
10.)Using the restrooms normally
11.)Cooking meals for yourself or others
12.)Jumping up and down
...

All these activities, and many more, seem so simple until you yourself cannot perform these simple tasks. The next time you take a step, or get dressed, or even climb a set of stairs, please be thankful you have the ability!

Hopes for the future!

My hope for the future is to become a New Jersey State Trooper, just like my aunt. When I was younger, I loved ocean life, especially dolphins. My first choice of a career would be to work at Sea World in Florida. After consideration on money, benefits, and retirement, it made little sense to me to turn a hobby that I could do on vacation, into a career. My senior year in high school I took a duel course in Criminology and Forensic Science. The first two marking periods of the year I was entered into Forensic Science, and the last two marking periods, I was in Criminology. In my Forensics class, my teacher allowed me to have my aunt Rita come in and be a guest speaker for the class. My aunt had made the class a power point presentation describing what her job implied in the csi unit of the state police force. In the slide show were some pretty vibrant and horrifying pictures of bodys and the crime scenes. While the rest of the class looked for the nearest trash can, I sat in the classroom at the edge of my seat. It was that moment that I relized I knew what I wanted to do career wise. My hope is to be involved in Forensic Science and use the newest technologies to catch the real bad guy and bring innocent victims, who were wrongly accused, home. With much determination and family support, I believe I can be anything I want to be!

Continuous efforts

Although I survived the virus, I am still overcoming a few symptoms and set backs.I continuously have to visit my doctor for check ups and go for blood work. My biggest trouble is re-gaining the weight I had lost in the hospital. Since I was being fed through a feeding tube, I was not gaining weight like normal, I was losing weight. Before I went into the hospital, I weighed about 135 pounds, and when I got out, I weighed merely 103 pounds. My doctor told me that for my height (5 feet 8 inches), I should weigh about 125 pounds. Since my appetite is almost finally back to normal, I now weigh about 111 pounds. I still have a few pounds to gain to be at my ideal weight, but I'm in a continuous effort to gain them. My workouts were certainly not helping with the weight gain. My main goal is to gain the muscele tone back that I had before I got sick. I also have some personal problems I do not wish to discuss. All in all, I am very proud of where I am today. I am nearing the one year mark of being diagnosed with EBV, and that makes me so happy. Time truly does fly. This experience has changed me for the better. I live each day like it will be my last, and I never take anything for granted. Every moment is precious and every second counts.

Another trip to the hospital

I forgot to mention that the day after I was released from hospital therapy I was admitted to the Emergency Room.I had to go for a doctors visit the day after I was released as a follow up, but there was a problem. When my blood was tested, the doctor found that my potassium level was low. It was not dangerously low, but needed to be increased quickly. That night I was back to the hospital. The night grew longer as waiting is one of the key aspects of the ER. After the doctors called me in, it was once again time for testing. I recieved x-rays and then was put on an IV drip. I was fed potassium through an IV drip in my hand. Let me tell you, potassium burns the veins and is very painful. The nurses were trying their best to releive the pain, such as adding salt water to the IV and putting a cool rag on my hand. However, nothing was helping with the pain. I was informed that I would have to stay for the night, which greatly upset both me and my parents. As a precautionary, the doctors and to test my blood frequently to see if my potassium level was increasing. Now, since I had constantly been testing my blood, I had little blood left in my veins to be tested. In one attempt, the doctor finally found a useful vein, but the vein moved. The doctor then moved the needle to follow the vein, as you may have guessed, I screamed at the top of my lungs. The next morning, my potassium level had increased to the proper and normal level, so all I needed to do was eat some food to see how my body would handle it, and I was released. A night in the ER can seem like eternity.

A song to relate my streive

I played this song frequently when I was sick to help push me further.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF2N7ZAKcXE

Outpatient therapy didn't last long

I began outpatient therapy at Children's Specialized therapy, in Hamilton, New Jersey, just a week after I was released from the hospital. My doctor told me that I could attend outpatient whenever I wanted to, but I wanted to begin right away and get it over with. The workouts I was required to do at this facility were no where near what needed to be done to improve my mobility and strength, so I was only there for about a month. Luckily, my family has a friend who is a physical and massage therapist. After about another week, I began working out with my new personal trainer, Michelle. She came to my house twice a week and either worked me out, or gave me a massage for an hour. Now when I say massage, I don't mean a relazing rub. She needed to pinch the stressed nerves all over my body, to release the tension. She asked which body parts were the most tender, and pitched those the hardest, until the pain was gone. Not very relaxing. My workouts consisted of ab work outs, legs,arms, and any where else I could gain muscele back. As much as I didn't want to wake up in the morning for those workouts, it payed off in the long run. Michelle was a huge help getting me back to a full recovery.

Another Milestone!

Finally, my g-tube (feeding tube) was taken out! I was now fully able to eat on my own! Oddly enough, the removal of the tube in my stomach hurt more than the removable of the tube in my throat. I was very sore for that day and the next, but was given pain relievers. The only disappointment of the removal was that I could not have pool therapy that week, at the risk of infection from the chlorine. After the g-tube was taken out, I spent another week at the hospital and then was FINALLY discharged! What a relief it was to finally be home for good. Sleeping in my own bed that night can't even be put into words. Although I was done with therapy at the hospital, I still had to attend outpatient therapy in Hamilton. Instead of the everyday work outs, it was dropped to 2 hour sessions for 2 days a week. I guess you can say it was my vacation from every day work outs. I was still home in a walker, but I knew it wouldn't be long until I was walking on my own.

Finally, therapy that I enjoy

I was still overwhelmed and exciting from being able to graduate. The doctors and nurses would walk into the room and ask, " Why are you so happy?" And my smile just got bigger being able to talk about my standing ovation and seeing all my friends. The next day, I was allowed to start pool therapy. Loving the water, I was so happy I was finally able to go back into a pool. I was unable to start pool therapy earlier due to the fact that you are not allowed to, while a trech is in your throat. The pool was heated and so relaxing. I tried walking in it, holding the side rails, and did some kick moves and squats. The water made it easier because it's easier to walk in water than on land. When the session was over, I never wanted to get out. Since, the water was helping me with my walking skills, they started having me use a walker outside of the pool. At first, I would take as many steps as I could. Soon enough, I was doing a lap around the lobby ( which was pretty big). When I conquered the feat of using the walker, I began another task we take for granted, climbing stairs. It was so difficult at first, but like everything else, I pushed harder and harder each time. When I began climbing the stairs, I would have to place one foot up, use both hands to hold the rail, and pull with all my might, just to get up one step. Climbing stairs sounds easy, but when you haven't been using your musceles that long, it is extremely difficult. Since I had such a gret relationship with my therapists, they persuaded the doctor to let them take me out to get my nails done. It was such a relief to get out of the hospital and be "girlie" for a day. It brought me joy and made me strieve to get out of the hospital even more.