11.5: My First Time (Emma)

"The first time I came to the hospital… It had to have been when I was a child. I mean, that much is obvious but I'm trying to say… err…mmmm… ahhhh… Ah! There's the word. Adolescent. My first trip to the hospital for my disease was during my adolescence. Apparently, my mom noticed that I was pretty pale and that I kept having tightness in my chest. One day on our way back from the church I fell outside and passed out instantly. Naturally, their first thought was to rush to the hospital. So, when we got there the man in the white coat told me this in a very deep, manly, serious, voice saying, 'You have to be more careful from now on. You have a very serious disease that affects your heart's ability to function and control your heart rate.'

Obviously, that made me just a teensy bit confused considering I was no older than 10. Basically, they told me I had this super dangerous heart condition called Arrhythmia. It's sorta this thing that messes with my heart rate. I had a very intense case of Arrhythmia and that's why I passed out and had a tight chest for a while before. My heart was basically playing catch up, but it didn't have the stamina to run at the same pace as my body.

I… I remember the first time it happened, erm… at school. I was in gym class; we were running around the track. I was with these three girls–– Emma, Martha, and Kira–– they were my friends at the time. I mainly hated Emma though. I hated her because she had the same name as me. It was so annoying to be around her because people would always be like 'Hey Emma' and we would both be like 'what?'. It was such a pain. Anyways, while we ran around the track, I felt my chest start to swell. I got dizzy. I felt like the whole world was spinning around me. I tried to stop running but before I knew it, everything was black. I tried to move my body, but I couldn't. It was scary. I thought I was dead. For a little bit though, I heard the people around me laughing. Then I really did wish I was dead. I could feel the blood leaking from my head after I fell on the ground. 'Teacher! Teacher!' They all called out. I was carried to the hospital and that's when they told me what happened. That was around the 50th time this had happened to me in the last 7 years. That was the last straw. I decided to drop out of school and transfer to YWC–– Central.

I was invited to a party of sorts, by one of my friends. I had decided I was going to bring my medication with me, and when I went to the bathroom to use it, the weirdest thing happened. This weird boy came in and accused me of being some drug addict. It was hilarious. That was the first time I met him. Nate. I don't know his last name. I really hope that we can become really good friends though. We start school together on Friday. I hope he doesn't feel awkward because of what happened yesterday. What do you think, Mrs. Rodna?"

"It seems like you have a lot on your mind. And for that boy, I wouldn't worry too much. I don't know him personally, but I don't think that he would be scared off so easily."

"You think so?"

"Yeah."

"I'll see you next session, okay?"

"Yeah, tell your mom I said Hi."

"Of course, I will! Have a good day, I'll leave your check with the receptionist."

Check for Rodna Mathers–– $90 Ninety and 00/100 Dollars—––––––––––

Emma Jones—––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––