McAffee 1

Tazia McAffee

Dr. Haslam

Engl. 2010-2

1 May 2021

A Normal Day

I was only 11 years old the day my eyes were opened to an experience that has changed

my life forever. It was a normal day, I had just gotten home from school and I was having my

usual after school snack of string cheese. My mom came into the kitchen where my brother and I

were eating and told us to get ready. This was strange because usually we didn’t go anywhere

right after school.

I was confused, so I asked, “Why? Where are we going?”

Flustered, my mom responded, “I’ll answer the questions on the way, we just have to

hurry and leave right now.”

I looked up from the table and was about to start questioning her. As I lifted my head, I

saw my mom’s face. I stopped immediately; I knew something was wrong. She was pale with

rosy cheeks and had a beam of sweat dripping down her forehead. I ran down the stairs to get my

shoes and went straight to the car. I didn’t ask why when we first got in the car, I wanted to give

my mom a minute to cool down. She looked worried even though she was trying to keep it

together for us.

After about 10 minutes, I finally got the courage to ask where we were going.

I whispered, “Mom?”

“Yes?” She responded

“Is it okay to know where we are going now? It’s okay if not, I am just wondering.”
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I tried to be quiet and polite when asking this, to not anger her.

She took a deep breath and said, “You know aunt Nicole?”

“Yes, has something happened to her?” I said.

Her voice wavered as she spoke, “Remember how her tummy looks big because she has a

liver sickness? Well today her sickness got really bad, she’s in the hospital. We are going to see

her, but she might look really sick, so don’t be scared.”

I thought back to the last time I had seen my aunt. At Christmas, she was very

pale/yellow and sick looking, I remembered asking her if she was okay, and wondering why she

looked sad on Christmas. She seemed weaker than usual and wasn’t eating anything. “Patients

with end stage liver disease can experience aching muscles and joints; abdominal pain; nausea;

vomiting; decreased appetite; jaundice,” (Raypole).

I chose not to say anything back because I was on the verge of tears. As we walked in, I

wondered why she was so sick if she was in the hospital. The hospital was supposed to be a place

where people got better after surgery or being sick, not where people got sicker.

Could the doctors not save her? I thought to myself.

As I was walking down those long white halls, I couldn’t help but think about how sick

she was. Last time my mom had said someone was sick was my great grandpa, and he died

shortly after we went to visit him. I felt confused and helpless, there was nothing I could do if

she was sick and I felt as if I wasn’t getting the whole story.

Finally, we arrived at the room Nicole was in. I walked in and was shocked. I wanted to

run out, but I didn’t want to be disrespectful. She was very yellow, and she was having

uncontrollable muscle spasms. The bed was wet from her urine and I was terrified. I began to cry

as I stared at her in disbelief.

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All I could think was, Why aren’t the doctors doing anything to help her?

I retreated from the room as quickly as I could, devastated from what I had just seen. I

didn’t want to remember her this way, miserable and deathly.

She died shortly after from end stage liver failure, and I now realize that her doctor’s

couldn’t do anything to help her, there just aren’t enough donated livers for people like my aunt.

This is a memory I will keep with me forever; I just wish something else could have been done

to save her.

“On average, three people with end stage liver disease die every day in the U.S. while

waiting for a liver transplant. A total of 1,155 lives were lost last year alone,” (UNOS).
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Works Cited

Raypole, Crystal. “Liver Disease Symptoms: Signs of Fatty Liver and Other Liver

Problems - Healthline”. Healthline, 22 March 2019,

https://www.healthline.com/health/liver-disease-symptoms

UNOS. “Liver Distribution.” UNOS, 14 Jan. 2021, unos.org/policy/liver-

distribution/#:~:text=Despite%20this%2C%20however%2C%20the%20reality,were

%20lost%20last%20year%20alone.