Health Case

My dream was always to play basketball. I started playing when I was very young and actually liked it. Once I got use to playing I never quit. My dad put me in little leagues around the city and I was always the only girl on the team. So I knew this sport would fit me and I would go far with it.

As I got older the competition got harder. The game was more physical and fast pace. I would practice and get better everyday. Whenever you look up I would have a ball in my hand. Basketball was like my best friend and we were always together, but this devastating tragedy happened.

That summer Friday morning my team had a mandatory practice and meeting to get ready for summer traveling. I noticed during practice that I was more tired than usual and had a lot of bruises. Afterwards, I got sat down and thought about why I was so tired. I said to myself, "maybe I just worked a little harder today."

We had a tournament the following weekend and I was excited and ready to play. During warm-up I felt kind of weird and had to sit down. Coach Merriweather asked, "are you alright?" I wanted to tell him no but I couldn't because I really wanted to play. I got on the court and this sharp pain went through my stomach that I never felt before. I tugged on my jersey to let my coach know that I needed to come out the game.

The rest of the day I had really bad headaches and was very sleepy. I couldn't put my finger on it but I knew something wasn't normal about me. My skin had little red spots on it and I was pale looking. My dad told me that I was going to the doctor to get checked out before any other trip.

My grandmother took me to the hospital the next day because I was feeling very awful. I barely could lift my head up without being in pain. When I got to the emergency the doctor took me to x-ray to look at my ribs for any damage. After that all I remember is the doctor saying, "hold your breathe." and I woke up on the floor.

Tears came to my eyes as I laid in the hospital bed. I knew the news were going to come back terrible. I didn't know what to do I was just too nervous. The doctor told my mother that I might have cancer and my heart just dropped. All I could think about is will I be able to play basketball? Will I die?

I realize how much my life is going to change after all the hospital stays and surgeries I have to get. It made me put more thought into being more grateful of what I have and who I have in my life because tomorrow is never promised. So this life changing experience really opened my eyes to look at how precious life can be.