The day began as insignificantly as any other had, with a sense of discomfort, and illness. Lying down on my bed curled up writhing in pain. Even though i had been sick the past few days, the pain i had experienced that day gave me some cause for concern. I said nothing to my parents who, by this time, had grown more worried about their child. The day passed, one hour grew into another and my condition deteriorated. It was amazing how useless and weak i felt, how fragile. I never would've guessed it could happen to me. I suppose ignorance is bliss .

By the afternoon i decided that what i had was more significant than anything i had before. That drove me to decide that i might need to go to the hospital, my parents agreed. I hobbled out to the car and laid down in the back seat. I As i was driven to the hospital i laid there and stared out the window, eagerly awaiting the imminent arrival at the hospital. When i arrived i was relieved, as the door opened and the sunlight flooded in i was met by two nurses who put me on the large, yellow stretcher and escorted into the lobby of the ER.

As i was wheeled into the lobby the room was brimming with feverish activity. As intercoms called people to various locations, and patients were being transferred to rooms awaiting attention. I was soon escorted into a small examination room where i waited for the doctors arrival. When the doctor came in he began his examination. I could feel his cold , precise hands as he felt for anything abnormal or concerning. When he touched a particularly sensitive part on my side and i winced in pain. I looked at him and saw as his mind went through and processed several ideas. He then said to me “ you are going to need surgery”. He left, leaving unbreakable silence in the wake of his departure. The only thing that broke the silence was the perpetual beep of the heart rate monitor, and the muffled announcements from down the hall. Laying there, waiting, i prepared to be escorted by the nurses to the operating room.

I waited for several minutes for the nurses to ferry me away. Trying to pass time, i thought, i thought about what this meant and ideas began to manifest in my head. I started to think about how odd it was that complete strangers whom i have never met were going to operate on me, i guess some people would call it trust. And that may be true but equally i call it not having a choice in the matter. The time passed, my mind drifted, then it dawned on me the shear probability that this happened to me. The fact that it could have happened to literally anyone, and the reality that it happened to me represented that in that regard I wasn’t unique, i didn't have some imperviousness to having to endure challenging situations. I also pondered how people who have these experiences, do the people who do live through this do they have a different or improved perspective on other aspects of life? I think so, and as the nurses came and interrupted me with the words “the surgeon is ready for you now” wheeled me into the operating room.When i arrived, i was placed on the shiny metal table covered in a blue blanket. I thought about how this was a great example that the most enlightening experiences can come from the most unlikely situations.