The Road to Recovery

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Recovery is not easy

  There are good days and bad days. Fortunately, since my surgery, I've been going up on the roller coaster. It has been two weeks since my surgery, and I'm feeling great! A little nausea here and there still exists, but nothing too drastic. I've been able to tolerate solid foods as well! While I was in the hospital, the only thing that suited my taste was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich which is much better than tube feeds!

  Today I had my last face to face appointment with Dr.Petty! He put me in charge of leading the conversation as he usually does. I told him that I've been eating on my own, and that I made a brave decison a few minutes before we saw him. I said "I ate a hot dog from the cafeteria and I didn't have any MALS pain!". He replied with "a hospital cafeteria hot dog?? That makes ME hurt" as he pointed to where the MALS pain would be. Dr.Petty is always cracking jokes which is one of the many great qualities he has! He really does make you feel like you're up on a pedestal.


At my doctor's visit, I learned that recovering from MALS, SMA and NCS surgery can take 6 months to a year. It's only going to get better from here, and I'm so excited to live a normal life. I've always done great in school, but those last couple months really gave me some trouble because of my pain. I found myself having to go home within minutes of being at school. The pain was just too unbearable. I became unmotivated, and sometimes I wasn't willing to try anymore. I felt like I wasn't going to graduate on time or even at all. My Mom and I sat down with my principal, and we discussed a plan since I wasn't able to make it through the day. We decided it would be best for me to attend school for half days only. So, I'd stay for the first half of the day, then go home and finish the rest of my assignments. This seemed to suit me better, because I could come home and rest. It was hard teaching myself physics AND Spanish 2, but I pushed forward and graduated with a 3.5 despite everything I went through. I'd say I'm pretty proud of myself!

  Now,  I have college waiting for me... it's just around the corner! I'll finally be able to do what I want to do and go where I want to go. I'll be free of hospitals and being hooked up to machines. Life 2.0 cannot come any sooner!


 
  

  



 

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