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Surgery #1

October came sooner than I had expected. I was having my surgery at Children's Hospital in Boston and there were so many sick children around me. I felt so sorry for all of them and all their families. When I saw the little girls with no hair and the little boys so weak they couldn't walk, I realized my situation wasn't that bad. I thought in my head, I can do this if these kids can.
I had to go a few weeks before my surgery to have my pre-op. They did blood work and made sure I was healthy enough to go through with the surgery. Everything seemed to be okay except that I had had my period for several weeks straight.
I also had to go a few weeks before to get fitted for a brace that I "might" have to wear, depending on what the doctor found after he cut me open.
The day of surgery came. I couldn't eat after midnight the night before so I was so hungry that morning! They brought me right in when I got there to get me all settled. They told me to change, gave me an IV and a puzzle to play to keep my mind off things. I was sweating and very nervous by this time and it seemed like forever before they actually did something.
They finally gave me something to calm me down and I just remember laughing and getting very sleepy.
The time came to push me into the operating room and all I wanted was for my mom to come in with me. I kissed my mom and dad goodbye and off I went, not knowing what was going to happen next or how bad I would feel when I woke up.
The operating room was freezing and I had to be moved from the bed I was in to a very uncomfortable metal table. They put oxygen over my face and told me to count down from 100...The next thing I knew I was waking up, and it was not going to be an easy recovery.

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