Don’t cry. Keep a smile. Take care of mom. Be strong. It’s fine, I don’t need that. It’s a waste of money. I can buy it another time. Be strong. I know they are innocent. College is up to me now. Be strong... BE STRONG.
The paramedics bombarded my house, pushing any and everything out of their way. They ran to my mother, who was unconscious on the floor, frantically putting her on the gurney and sprinting out of the apartment even faster than they arrived. I was only four, I didn 't understand what was happening in front of me. In the emergency room, I watched my mother lay in front of me strapped to more machines than I could count at the time. I had so many questions. How could a dishwasher electrocute my mother? What is Reflex …show more content…
How can I help? The only people who answered my questions were the physicians. As I sat stoically hoping for my family’s matriarch to wake up, only a few people could give me hope. No, it wasn’t my siblings or even my father. It was the doctors who I watched give their all to maintain my mother’s health. In that moment they became my heroes. They not only saved my mother’s life but also thousands of other lives. I admire their tenacity, grit, intelligence, and ability to save a person when in need. I found out what Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy was, and to put it into Layman’s terms it’s “ghost pain”. It meant due to her injury my mother developed overactive nerves that led to immense pain throughout everyday life. After being prescribed over 80 pills a day my mother became a medicated zombie sleeping not only the pain, but also her life away. I grew up quickly trading my tennis shoes for medical dictionaries. …show more content…
As we would walk through a store I no longer asked for anything that didn’t seem like a necessity. My eyes never rolled and my body never went into a full on brawl with the floor during a tantrum for not getting some game or toy. I understood our family’s situation and wanted to help any way I could. The only way I conjured up was learning to live without, or working my butt off to get it myself. I put my all into everything no matter how big or small the task. I studied for every test, spent hours in the batting cage outside of practice, and taught myself every song in orchestra. This drive helped me focus on the one profession that focused on my strengths...emergency medicine. My family 's financial standing helped me learn to be independent and problem solve under any circumstance. I know my life wasn 't perfect but we made it work, until a curveball from left field completely threw our family into