A week before my fourteenth birthday I woke up with an unexpected black eye from no one knew only God. It last a week then i went to visit my mom in Franklin,NC and my nose kept bleeding and I couldn't open anything without my hands hurting, and my feet were turning purple and blue from the cold weather and I was getting bumps on my hands. When I got back from NC I was sick so I then went to the doctor and my leg was swelled up and I showed my dad. It hurt so bad I couldn't even walk on it. I went to the doctors for everyday for a week and finally went back to school on that Friday January fourteenth two thousand and five. I was at Caloosa Middle school when the school got a call from my dad saying that they needed to get me and to grab my books because Doctor Flores my doctor needed me there as soon as possible. So Mrs. Brewer came and got me and then took me up to my locker to get my books, I did what I was told and then finally it came out of my mouth " Um, what's going on here?" Then she said "Your dad called and he said that you are needed in Saint Petersburg as soon as you can get there."
Finally my dad got to my school and said thanks to the teachers that helped me get ready and all. When we left Caloosa my dad told me he did not why they wanted me up there so quick and that he called my grandma Phillips from my moms side of the family. We got to my house and in packed a few things because I did not know how long I was going to be there. Then finally we left, and were on our way to Saint Petersburg.
I slept most of the way there until we stopped at McDonalds for lunch because none of us had eaten that morning or anything. After that we finally got to the hospital and went to the registration counter and got all set up and they gave me my room number which was room 370B southwest. Which meant I got the room closest to the window. But anyways when I got to my room my nurse came in and started asking me all these questions; I do not remember most of them. Then she took my blood pressure and it was 160 over 100. I was so scared I started to get tears in my eyes because I knew that my blood pressure was way to high for anyone. After that my doctors came in to see where I was hurting and all.
When my doctors left I settled down and called my mom to see were she was at and everything and then my dad and grandma talked to her. So then my grandma told me my mom was flying down tomorrow: I was so glad. Later that night I had to get an ultrasound on my leg to see if there were any blood clots: thank god there weren't any.
The next day I had lots of blood work done and got my IV put in my left hand. My doctor suggested to me that I walk around so I listened to him by doing that as well as I played games with my grandma before she went and got my mom from the airport. Then my grandma came back and my grandpa was there as well as my mom and we all went into the game room and played rumikub. It was a very tiring day so I went to bed sort of early and I had no roommates which meant it was a very quiet night for me and my mom who stayed in the hospital room with me.
On Sunday most of my family came to the hospital to see me; so it was another tiring day for me. But then as I was just laying in my bed I overheard my parents talking and they said that my older brother who came up to visit me was in the emergency room; then my dad had to go back to Cape Coral because he had been with me almost for four days. So, my grandma stayed with my brother and my mom stayed with me.
I took a shower that night and I had accidentally got my IV a little wet so I had asked the nurse to retape it she accidentally pulled it right out and I was ordering me some food strawberries and angel cake and I was not ready for it who would be?. But anyways they ended up giving me a new IV but waited till the morning to do it and then they had also put me on my liquid steroids, but they put the new IV in my right hand so it was hard to write and stuff. Tuesday is when they had my kidney biopsy and it went good. One thing I was thinking was that no matter what happens its all going to come out to a solution for me and my family about my health.
Later that day my doctors came in to give us the information and this is what he said "Well, she has Lupus and the kidney biopsy went good but she has inflammation in her kidneys, and it is at a level four and there are six levels." I was thinking I never thought I would ever get diagnosed with anything and the worst part was that I never even knew Lupus existed. Wednesday came around and nothing happened besides every three hours they came in to check my temperature and my blood pressure. That night at midnight I got my first round of chemotherapy treatment called Cytoxan or (cyclophosophamide). The chemo took four hours but the whole treatment took six hours. The next day I got my two pints of blood and was really tired afterwards. At 8:30 in the morning my doctor came in and told me that I was going home the next day; I was so excited I was ready to get out of the hospital. Later that day a college student came into my room asking if I was willing to answer questions for him and I was willing to so I answered the questions and then went back to bed. Finally on Friday at 11:30 in the morning I got discharged from All Children's Hospital.
Every month I had to go back up to Saint Pete to get my chemo treatment I was always the first one there and last one to leave. I also had to get blood work done every month. So it was a very long six months. And it still is but I am off of Cytoxan and I am taking chemo pills. I take like ten pills a day but I don't really care because I take them all at once. The medicines I am now on are- Prednisone, Enapril, Norvasc, Hydorxychlorine, calcium pills, Cellcept, Baby aspirin and Zoloft. I am doing good now I have not had one flare up since getting diagnosed and that is great. Well I hope you enjoyed reading this.
