|
My mom took me out of school early one day for my doctor’s appointment and all I could think about was hoping I could find out what was wrong with me and fix it. Dr. Saifullah took a blood sample, checked my blood pressure among other things, and the discoloration of my lips and neck. Intrigued and confused, he asked to see the crease between my arm and forearm and behind my knees and then walks out of the room, without saying a word. Nothing could prepare me for what words he would utter when he returned. He sat down, looked back and forth from his nurse to me and my mom, and said very casually, “Renata, I think you may have some form of cancer”. In more ways than one, I died right then and there. It was as if my soul had been taken from me. “Cancer?! I’m only 12 and I feel fine. There’s no way I can have cancer.” At that very moment, I had at least three different emotions overtake my body. First I felt happy that I finally knew what was wrong with me. Then those thoughts turned to thinking about death, losing my hair and all the things I hadn’t done in my life yet. Even more confused, he began to question me about how much energy I had been having lately and had being having any unusual pains anywhere. As soon as the sentence left his lips, I started remembering that I had been feeling kind of sluggish, but I thought nothing of it figuring I was tired from basketball practice. By the time I had finished telling him what I remembered, he quickly left the room again. When he returned, he repeated the exact actions he did the first time. He looked back and forth between his nurse, and my mother and I. “What could he possibly think to tell me now”, I remember thinking. In his slight accent, he says, “I seem to have a made a mistake. Diabetes. Type II, that’s what you have, not cancer. At that very moment would begin my struggle with Type II Diabetes. |
My Story |
|
Renata Patton |
