A Journey Begins Pt 1.

I don’t know for sure when my illness’s started…

…I know they all seemed to “appear” at once… But one day sticks out in my mind…

May 25th, 2010.

It was a beautiful, sunny day at my home in Pennsylvania. I remember somebody had come over earlier in the day to “hang-out.” I vaguely remember going on the swing set, the slip n’ slide, and in my hot-tub. As the day went on my friend left, and my brother had 2 of his friends come over to play some golf at the top of the steep hill in our backyard. Still dripping wet in my bathing suit from the hot-tub, I decided to join them. As his friends and I picked out our golf clubs and neon golf balls and tee’s, I stood behind my brother (at what seemed like a good distance.) just in front of the fence. He grasped the driver tightly in his hands…swung back…

…and BANG!…

…I was screaming as I bolted down the hill, dripping blood; with my hand cupped on my forehead, before I even could comprehend what just happened.

I ran across the pool deck, leaving droplets of blood in my trail, and darted inside to the downstairs bathroom. I slowly removed my hand to a scary sight- I could see my skull in the mirror! The skin had basically exploded, and I was left with a small, gaping hole over my right eye just above the eyebrow. I cupped my hand over it again, and ran towards the stairs, where my parents came running. I released my hand, and watched as my horrified mother ran and called for an ambulance. She grabbed a dish rag as they told her to keep pressure on it. I remember she kept telling them how it wouldn’t stop bleeding….It seemed like forever until the ambulance got there.

When they arrived we met them on the front porch. They asked if I had passed-out (thankfully I did not.) One taped a large gauze pad over it, as the other said I needed to go the hospital. I wanted my parents to just drive me, but after some convincing by the paramedics, I finally agreed to ride in the ambulance.

By this time, my neighbors and neighborhood friends had all come out to see what was going on. I was strapped onto the stretcher as they watched, and with my mom on board off we headed to the hospital.

When we got to the hospital, I don’t know if we just happened to run into her or what, but I was so happy to see my aunt who’s a nurse there! I remember as we were waiting for me to get an MRI, she went to see if they could move me up so I could get in sooner. 🙂

I ended up getting 7 stiches after the dr. figured out how to sew the skin on my forehead back together again. I really was lucky it wasn’t my eye!

…

And that- well, maybe-

… was only the beginning of what would turn out to be a long journey of doctors, misdiagnosis’s, and strength to get through it all.

 

More in “A Journey Begins Pt 2.”