I went through a time last year where I passed out at school.  I was outside on the playground at recess.  I felt dizzy.  The teacher noticed that I was not well, and she sent me to the nurses’ station.  When I got there, I passed out.  Someone at the school called my mom.  When I saw her, I realized that the fear in my mom’s eyes was one of the worst feelings I had to see. I was confused on what happened, but I knew by the look in her eyes that it wasn’t good. My mom had to carry me to the car, and while she carried me, my eyes rolled to the back of my head.  My mom knew that something was terribly wrong.  I was confused, but I knew that mom would help me.

When we got to the hospital, they initially could not figure out what was wrong, and they sent us home.  My mom knew on some level that my health problem was much deeper than that.  She finally got me to a specialist, who discovered that my gall bladder was “dead.” Two days later, I was in emergency surgery to have my gall bladder surgically removed. When the anesthesia was applied, the medical professional discovered that my heart beat was irregular.   

After surgery, the doctors explored my heart condition more deeply, and discovered serious problems with my heart.  These problems were so serious that they could have killed me.  Doctors took a cardiogram of my heartbeats, and they noticed that I had a heart muscle that was out of place.  Then, they gave me a “stress test,” and they discovered that I was not getting oxygen or blood to the right side of my heart.  The doctors told me that this condition was “congenital,” and that I was born with it.  The right side of my heart was shutting down whenever my heart rate reached a certain speed.  A week later, I met with a heart surgeon, and he made a plan for surgery.  

Not long after that, I had major heart surgery to correct the problem.  From the start of my health “journey” to the finish was only about 6 weeks!  The journey of not knowing why to finally knowing why I passed out and what was going on was a difficult one, but I made it. I had my heart surgery last year to fix the issue. 

How I feel about it all today you ask? I can be more active now, without the passing out and trouble breathing that I had before. The surgery and its effects have made me more confident on the football field, and I don’t feel like I am going to get hurt or not get up anymore. It changed my life because it saved my life, but it also brought up some insecurities because of the scar I have. When I’m playing basketball or just being outside with my shirt off, people ask me what happened and when people stare at me, it makes me slightly uncomfortable. I have trouble explaining why and what happened for me to have heart surgery, and I have trouble explaining how the heart surgery makes me uncomfortable. I would just rather be happy that my life is safe now, and that I can be normal rather than talking about it. I feel like a new person in a way because I can run better and faster. I don’t get dizzy or light headed anymore either. 

The good that came from this experience is what I want to talk about more than the surgery its self and or what happened to cause it. I like moving forward with it, instead of remembering the worst of it. I think God for being here and having His hand in it with me and finding me the best of the best surgeons; He knew exactly what He was doing to make me whole again. People have said that I healed faster than most people who have of these kind of surgeries. They called me “The Miracle Case,” while I see myself as a blessed case. I’m glad and happy that I am healed and can do all the things I didn’t know could cause danger, but now no longer exist in my life. Sometimes, I think it’s better not knowing because I did not have fear until it was made real to me. But I also am glad that this was made known to me before it became too late for me. I give all my thanks to the amazing surgeon, God, and to my parents for being there to help save my life. All in all, I feel GREAT!