From the Beginning and a Bit of Today

How do I begin...


May 1, 1990 - My parents received the test results saying that I did in fact have Cystic Fibrosis.


Summer before entering 3rd grade - My first hospitalization at CHOC (Children's Hospital Orange County)
          I can still remember the nurses putting the two IVs in my arms as I screamed bloody murder. My dad bought me a butterfly balloon when I was done to cheer me up, it worked. During my stay I had 2 bronchoscopes to remove mucus that was not showing up on x-rays but was hindering my breathing; I left the hospital much better than I came in.


February during 7th grade - My second hospitalization at CHOC
          During this stay I received my feeding tube that I still have today. At the time I thought it was the end of the world to have something on my stomach that wasn't a bellybutton ring, lol. Over time I have come to appreciate it knowing that if my appetite isn't the best I can use it to keep my body fed. *Little tid bit about this stay: I use to have a "blankie" that I would keep with me when I went on trips (or hospital stays), but when I went for a procedure and came back the cleaning ladies had taken it away in the bedding when they cleaned the room. I still miss that thing, it was so soft and silky.


Junior year of high school - My third hospitalization at CHOC
          This stay my teachers from school came to visit me along with some friends. Knowing that they were there for me made my stay a bit more easier.


From here on the hospital stays grew closer making them a bit less easier to track. Since Spring of 2008 I moved from CHOC to USC University Hospital. The transition was hard because I was leaving of all the doctors and people I knew over at CHOC, but I am so glad God has placed my new doctors in my life, they have been a blessing.


November 11, 2009, I was put on the Lung Transplant list through USC University Hospital. This was hard for my family and myself to accept because of what it ultimately meant, "I was getting worse and getting closer to the gates of Heaven."


Since January 2011, I have been in the hospital four times, making today the fifth round of treatment. It's been hard being here so much, but I am glad that I have been able to get to know most of the nurses here, it makes it feel a bit more like home.


Today I write from the hospital bed in ICU hoping to move once my desensitization is complete. I will continue to write, to keep anyone who wants to know, updated on the transplantation process.