It all began with sharp stomach pains on the morning of my eighth birthday. Little did I know when I was singing as an angel in my church choir, my appendix was slowly increasing in size. Before I knew it, I was being carried into the emergency room by my Dad.


December 20, 2003… 10:00 AM- With my first chomp into the ooey gooey cinnamon French toast, I noticed brief stomach pain but I thought it was just because I ate too much too fast. After breakfast, my family and I headed out the door to our church choir rehearsal.

12:00 PM- On stage, I got another stomach ache… But this time it reached an all-time high (for an eight-year-old). Sharp jabs into my abdomen forced me to take a rest and sit down on the pew. After the rehearsal, my dad rushed me home only to find out that I needed to have surgery for the removal of my appendix.

1:30 PM- After seeing the red “Emergency” sign, I was almost instantaneously rushed to the O.R. for the surgery of my almost ruptured appendix. My parents calmly stroked my head and said,” We love you and don’t worry about a thing… Just let the doctors work their magic and we will be waiting for you after.” Before I realized it, a gurney was wheeling me off into the dark, mysterious room.

9:15- 11:00 PM- My eyes drowsily and drearily overcame the affects of gravity and eventually lit up when the sight of my hopeful family came into view. They hugged, joked, and stayed with me as I slowly recovered from my surgery and it’s side effects.

Although this was a melodramatic experience for me, it helped me thrive into who I am today and forever changed the way I look at things: my health, my family, and my life. This memory will always make me remember my oh-so-very-intense eighth birhday!