Eight Year Tragedy

A tragedy is often looked at as a once in a lifetime incident that has effects traumatizing to the victim or victims.  Tragedies are scarring and can have a life lasting effect.  When the word "tragedy" is said, incidents like 9/11, The Oklahoma City Bombing, and Pearl Harbor come to mind.  Those events were devastating  and traumatizing even to people who didn't physically or mentally suffer from them.  I was only 11 years old when 9/11 happened but the visions still sit in my head to this day.

I almost lost my life at 6 months old.  I experienced a fever accumulating up to 105 Fahrenheit.  At such a young age, a baby's part of the brain responsible for controlling temperature, the Hypothalamus, is not completely developed.  That is why fevers and very high temperatures are much more deadly to babies as opposed to older people.  I was rushed to the hospital, my fever got so high that oxygen was cut off to the left part of my brain.  That part of the brain died and scarring formed. 

At age nine, I experienced a very weird and unnatural feeling while playing video games.  I sort of lost consciousness and started feeling tingly.  At first, I thought it was just something like fatigue, but I experienced it again days later.  I eventually went to the doctor and was diagnosed with epilepsy.  I remember crying without control.  Surgery was the ultimate cure but the doctors and my family wanted to avoid it. 

From age 13 to 16,  my life came to a major halt.  Due to strenuous activity causing the seizures, I couldn't play sports or do any physical activity.  But me being a stubborn teenager, I did those anyway.  There were countless times where I would do exercises and pass out in front of everyone.  The waking up part was the worst.  Everyone standing around you and staring, I even had people laugh or imitate me.  Those were traumatizing.  But that's high school for you. 

Many times, I had to leave class early or wake up with spectators.  It affected me away from school too.  My mom used to always cry when she saw me pass out.  I remember one experience when I had a really bad seizure and was rushed to the ER.  My mom was by my side crying helplessly. 

I finally had surgery at age 16, three weeks before my 17th birthday.  Even though my seizures are gone,  those experiences are still traumatizing.  I can't even look at a video of a person having a seizure without feeling guilty.  It would just remind me of myself.  I am VERY VERY blessed that my condition is gone.