A Normal Life (Part 1)

A Normal life. That was what I thought in was living. A normal teenage life. Taking part in races, joining competitions, eating more than i should, sleeping long hours, suddenly realizing that girls looked more interesting than they were before, going to church, hanging out with friends, and stuff along that lines. Yeah my life was like any other kid down the block. Was.

Do you know when people take morphin? It's when they want to have an extra boost of energy or when they are undergoing intense pain that painkillers can’t relieve. Well mine was the latter. It all started one day when I was cycling to school……

I woke up late that day. Usual. I always wake up late. I rushed through all my morning businesses like every other day, ate breakfast and left for school. But on that day I decided to cycle faster than normal. I sped like a maniac and still managed to get to school late. By the time I parked my bike I was panting like mad. That was usual, u can’t expect to not pant after cycling so fast. So I didn’t pay much attention to it. But by the time I started my prefect duty I noticed a sharp, throbbing pain at my chest when I breathed deeply. I took a few more deep breaths and it gradually faded away. I didn’t pay much attention and forgot all about it.

It started again after school. I was cycling back home when it came back. But now there was a sharp, pulling pain toward the left side of my back. That day, the normal 15 minute cycle home seemed like hours. By the time I reached home, it was unbearable. When I told my mom she thought it was muscle pain and asked me to wait until my dad came back. My dad’s a doctor if you wanted to know. He also thought that it was muscle pain and gave me panadol. This happened no a Tuesday. I couldn’t cycle to school the next day.

By Friday, the pain was still there, hitting me on and off. My dad then decided to take me to the hospital. So I went. To most people the hospital seams like a place of gloom and death, but I was actually excited going to the hospital. It was something out of my boring routine of life. So I went there with my mom. We registered a went to the doctors clinic to wait my turn. I was under a Dr. Ashoke, an old friend of my dads. When my turn came I went in not expecting anything. He went through the normal prosedure, taking my weight, height and blood pressure. After examining my chest, he sent me for an chest x ray.

The x ray was fun. It was the 1st time I had an x-ray taken and I was curious how it was done. Its very simple actually. Thay just ask you to stand in front of this box and shine a light on you. Then the attendant leaves the room and the x-ray is intensified. The part of your body that is in the direct line of the x-ray will be projected onto a special film and its done. The whole procedure took no less than 2 minutes. But it took some time for time for the x-ray film to be produced so I decided to grab something to eat and left for lunch.

When I came back to the hospital, the doctor had some shocking news for me. My x-ray showed that my left lung had collapsed 30%. I had a condition called Spontaneous Pneumothorax. It’s a condition where a part of the lung punctures and air escaped into the thoracic cavity. This air then compresses the lung. For more info, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumothorax. I was then informed that I needed to be immediately warded and undergo a minor operation.

That I never expected.

After checking in at the ward, I had to wait about an hour or so before the op. Ironically, I was quite excited. No idea why, but I was. Then the moment arrived. The doctor came and wheeled me to a room. It was not an operating theater, just a normal room. The doctor started taking out an array of ‘weapons’, and I was starting to freak out. Then he told me that he was going to insert a tube in my lung. A tube! He was going to insert a freakin’ tube! The tube was like 30 cm long! ARGH!!! Anyway 1st he numbed the area by injecting local anesthesia. Then he literally cut my body up.. I Don’t mean like into little pieces but a small portion of my skin. After he had made a hole big enough he inserted bout half of the tube. After securing the tube he stitched the place up so that the tube will not fall. I was then wheeled back to my ward to suffer and wait.

When i was about to go to sleep, along comes this nurse and tell me that i have to take yet another x-ray. So sien. Well anyway the x-ray was taken and then it was found out that bout 85% of my lung was bak to normal. So i still had to stay that night. That night was one of the worst nights ever in my life. Imagine what it feel like to be stabbed in the back with a knife but not be able to do anything about it. That's how i felt. Pain, torment, anguish. Hell seemed to be a better option at that time. But thanks to my caring mom who stayed by my side, i makde it to the next day.

The next day all was well and i was able to go home. I was time to put the past aside and move on. But God had other plans for me.........(to be continued)