My Journey

Where it all began:

I was 8 years old when I first got sick. I was diagnosed with the flu, which at the time did not seem like a big deal, but I kept getting sicker. Eventually the flu caused major hemorrhaging in my lungs. I was throwing up blood, and my mother rushed me to the ER at Childrens Hospital immediately on December 9th 2006. The next few months held uncertainty as I fight for my life. I coded three times in the first 24 hours of being in the ICU. Once I was stable, it was decided to put me on ECMO.

This is basically a large machine that oxygenates your blood for you. The blood was taken out by a tube through the right side of my neck and inserted back into my body at the top of my right thigh. While this was happening, all of my other organs shut down besides my brain. I was placed on dialysis and I was on both of these machines for about three weeks. Once I was off of the ECMO I was placed on a ventilator. Although I was stable, I was not getting better. The doctors decided the best thing to do would be to remove most of my left lung. After this procedure, all of my organs became active again. This was a life changing decision, and I started getting a lot better. When I woke up from my coma, I did not know how to walk, talk, or even using the restroom on my own. After weeks of rehab, I was able to go home on April 12th 2007. For years after, I have had to work hard to get to where I am now.

My goal with this blog is to share my story and to spread awareness. I know there are many people with my disease who struggle with the same things I do. I am hoping sharing about my daily treatments and experiences will help shine light and show others everything is going to be okay.

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