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Saydee Rowland
VanderSlik
English 100
14 September 2014
Appendicitis
The pain that I was feeling in my stomach was the most excruciating pain that I had ever felt.
Like cold knifes trying to find their way out from my side. At that point, I was pretty certain that this pain
would never stop and this is how I would die. I was just twelve years old and the only thought that was
going through my head was death. I promised myself that if I made it through whatever this pain was,
that I would live life to the fullest at all times because I didnt realize how extraordinary life is, but
beyond the feelings was pain, the only feeling I had left in my body felt like I was a doormat being
stomped on.
I was sitting in my seventh grade math class when I felt the sudden urge of cramping in my right
side. Ive had stomach aches, headaches and everything else, but none of them compared to the
agonizing pain that was building inside my stomach. I tried to ignore the pain, but when a few of my
friends started to notice the pain, I knew that something was wrong and that I couldnt hide it. I thought
that I would try to make it the rest of the day through school and then I would be home relaxing. When
lunch came around, my appetite had disappeared and I felt like the world had drained me from
everything that I had left.
The bus ride home was wretched. I was pretty sure that the bus driver was hitting every bump
and pothole of purpose because the ride was bouncier than a rollercoaster and every movement caused
that cold knife pain over and over. It was finally my stop and I somehow found enough strength to walk
to the front of the bus and down those four unpleasant steps. I made it to the porch and the door flew
open and I slammed to the ground. Something inside of me was stealing every inch of strength that I

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had left and I couldnt fight it anymore. My mom didnt realize at the time how bad it was and had me
rest on the couch and had me take some Aleve thinking that that would relieve some of the pain.
My mom had to go to work, so we were in the car on our way to my aunts house where I would
stay that night. The only thing that I could do when I got there was sleep and when I woke up four hours
later the pain amplified and I could hardly take it, it felt like my body was giving up on me. I couldnt eat,
so my aunt ran me a hot bath and when I stepped into the steaming bathtub into the scorching hot
water, I couldnt feel the pain because the pain inside me was taking over every ounce of feeling that I
had left. I sat in there for a while, I dont exactly know how long, but at this point, every minute felt like
a new lifetime. When I got out, something really had taken over my body because the pain was so
unbearable, I no longer felt anything. I was on the floor and had no strength to move. My aunt knew
that something was wrong and called my mom.
In ten minutes my mom was in Sheridan from Ionia. Luckily where she worked she was close
friends with a few cops and was escorted to me. My aunt and mom both had an idea of what was wrong
and my mom told me that it could be serious and I will probably have surgery that night. At that point,
the fear sunk in and I was mortified. We made it to Carson City hospital by 9:00 that night and I was in
bed, where I wanted to sleep but instead I couldnt because they kept poking and prodding at me like I
was some sort of test monkey trying out the newest drugs on the market. They were no good. Tests,
tests and more tests, but nothing happened. I was getting weaker and they had no more answers. Every
moment that passed by, I could feel my body letting go a little. Like it couldnt fight for me and I was
weaker. My body was giving up and so was I. They sent my mom home to grab each of us pajamas and
anything that she thought might make us more comfortable, like my baby blanket that I still had. That
poor blanket had been through everything; the mud, cold nights, when I was sick and still when I was
twelve. While she was at home around 2:00 in the morning, while I was still bring forced to stay awake,
the tests came back and it was appendicitis and we had no time, my appendix was bursting and it wasnt

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going to wait. I remember the nurses running through the Emergency room like chickens with their
heads cut off, making phone calls, checking charts and running me into every wall they could on their
way to the operating room.
I am not going anywhere without saying goodbye to my mom! I shouted at the nurse.
Saydee, we HAVE to get you into surgery immediately! You have no time, this can kill you. She
said back to me, trying not to yell, but also trying to be as stern as she can.
That was it. I broke down and asked myself, How could this be happening? All of this in one
day. They called my mom because if I was dying, I was telling someone goodbye and refused any other
options. The nurse stayed with me outside of the operating room and it was like she knew what I was
feeling and she understood.
My mom came running down the hall, faster than I had ever seen her run and she was crying. I
was trying to keep it together, she needed to know that everything was going to be okay, because I
knew that it was even though everyone else had nothing but doubt floating through their minds. I told
her I loved and I would see her soon, but right after that they dragged me into the operating room,
slamming my bed into the doorway one last time. When I got in the room, it was so cold, like an ice box.
The walls were white, there was no character making it worse to be in there. There were machines all
over and instruments sitting on a stand next to my bed. The scalpel stood out the most, it was like it was
taunting me because I knew that it would soon be pressing through my cold skin, leaving a scar behind
to remind me of this cruel day.
My body was giving up. I could really feel it now, my limbs were limp, the pain was numb and
my head was filled with nothing. Life was all that I could think of, how I didnt have it long enough and
that I still had more in me. The nurse was the only one with my in the room at the time and I remember
looking at the clock and it was 2:32 in the morning and the fight was gone. I felt one single tear stroll

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down my face, but I didnt feel sad or scared anymore. I didnt feel anything so I didnt know where the
tear came from, but when I looked up the nurse was crying.
Were going to take good care of you honey. I promise everything will be okay. She said to me
with such a reassuring voice.
After that, I could only smile, because I knew that I was going to be alright. There was a plan for
me and I wasnt ready yet.
Okay, Im going to put the mask on and you're going to go to sleep for a little while, well wake
you up when were all done. Came from someone else, I didnt get to see their face.
One two and thats all that I remember.
Those nurses didnt lie to me, because they woke me up at 5:34 that morning and the first thing
I seen was the clock, the nurse and my mom. I knew that things were going to be okay, when the nurse
told me, she had something about her that made me trust every word that came out of her mouth.
We went into surgery just in time Saydee. Your appendix burst, but we drained all fluids and
got it out in time. Youre going to be fine. The words that came from that same sweet nurse.
The words that the nurses spoke felt like I just hit the jackpot at the casino. Every word was
special, had deeper meaning and I never would have thought that before this experience that I would
have been grateful that someone asked me, How ya doin today Sweetie? I never realized that life was
the best thing that we had and we need to cherish it at all times. It was a close call, I almost died that
day, but someone was watching over and has given me a few chances in this lifetime and I am so
grateful for that. I have scars to remind me of the cruel day, just like I thought I would, but I am still here
and there is nothing to be more grateful for than life itself.