FROM THEN TILL NOW

Chapter I

A ten-year-old's experience of the hospital should be for the flu, a knee scraping even a cough, Taylor was nothing like that. It was a sunny day or at least that's how I remember it. I could remember the smell, the smell of the plastic at the playground, and the sound of the tetherball swinging on the pole. That day was great at the beginning. I could remember my teacher coming up to me in class saying

"Good morning children"

"Good morning Mrs.J !"

We all said happily. We were working on fractions that day and how to multiply them. My friend Isabella was helping me since math isn't my favorite subject, just a tolerable one.

" Come on Taylor, it's not that hard, it's a simple fraction!"

She said nagging me

She was truly a good friend and an honest one at that. Later in the day ( recess) we had a field day which consisted of me and my friends trying to do cartwheels and flips. After our break, I started not feeling so well getting hot sweats and dizziness none of the typical sick symptoms. So I later went to the nurse & as I was there I started hyperventilating. They called my mom and told her to come to get and from what I could hear my mom (miss need for speed) was very worried. A couple of days later on October 15th ( the day of my grandpa's birthday party), I went looking forward to the food because when I say I love my auntie Selenas cakes I love it, But on that day I couldn't eat anything, not even drink water. Everyone at the party kept asking me if I was okay. I kept saying yes knowing I felt everything but okay.

"Taylor looks bloated"

My aunt said to my mom

"She does"

Replied my mom

"Aida has she been eating a lot, I'm kind of worried"

My aunt said as chills ran down her spine.

I was not okay because the next day was nothing but horrible for my family and me. As I lay on the bed in distress my mom asked me several times

" Do you want to go to the hospital?"

She kept saying repeatedly as I finally gave in saying

"Yes mommy please"

We drove to Rady Children's and as we walked to the emergency room waiting to be seen I started to cry. The room's smell made me sick to my stomach, the smell of rubbing alcohol and a running AC. Later in the evening when I finally got seen my mom constantly told them to run more tests because before that visit we had been repeatedly to the emergency to find out nothing was wrong. The doctors ran several tests to find out I had several abnormalities in my blood. That night changed my life forever. On October 16th ( my brother David's birthday) the doctors came in and explained to my mom something no mother should have to hear

" I'm sorry to inform you but Taylor has something we call AutoImmune Hepatitis"

The look on her face, the scared look, the panic, was terrifying.

The way I remember it being explained to me was like no other explanation I ever heard. My uncle Jonathan ( The closest person I ever had to a dad) was the one who explained it to me, and I remember exactly how he told me he said

" Taylor your moms only panicking because she's scared"

" Why is she scared?"

I asked curiously

" Because you're sick now".

When a doctor or a family member tells you you're sick you'd never think it would be a life-threatening sickness knocking on your door. On October 16th at 9:00 pm I found out I had Autoimmune Hepatitis where the cells in my body attack the ones in my liver. When I was 10, I thought I was going in for a tummy ache, not for a life or death surgery. On October 17th at 5:30 pm, I was flown out from Rady Children's San Diego to Children's Los Angeles. Now for a ten-year-old who only somewhat knows what's going on it was very cool for me. I was highly amused by every sight seen. My mom on the other hand was not. Once we got to the hospital doctors came in saying

" Wow your the talk of the hospital"

I enjoyed that attention! That night was so chaotic, A MRI, CT, and Ultrasound were done on me that night. I was MPO for the rest of the week then they lifted it after my day of nagging to a liquid-only diet which I enjoyed. It was unlimited popsicles. It was amazing! On October 18th I met so many doctors and so many family members came to see me including my uncle Jonathan. I could talk to my uncle Jonathan about anything, especially the sickness because he could relate. See, my uncle had sickle cell, meaning he's had surgeries before and he could talk me through it, which he did. But before I get into that, I want to tell you about the days before the surgery. So on October 18th, I met many different team doctors. I met a Liver specialist & I met the Hematology team. They talked to me about the surgery and how it was going to go, for the most part, I understood and was just very ready for it to be over with. On October 19th I had my first ever Liver biopsy (which I would soon have to get used to) and they tested the blood type I believe ( i can't exactly remember I was 10) but other than that the day was based on family coming to see me such as my dad Michael, my brother David, my auntie kylie, my cousin Jennifer and much more family. It was truly an amazing day, very chill and relaxed, no tests were run or anything. On the following day around 4:00 pm, I saw a tear fall from my mother's face as she informed everyone that they had found a liver for me. The excitement I felt, the excitement everyone felt, was beyond phenomenal.

" as long as you leave it in gods hand he will guide you"

My aunt Ally said.

On October 21st at 6:20 am I went into surgery surrounded by my dad, mom, aunt, grandpa, and much more family I'm truly grateful for. After my surgery (or at least what I remember after) it was around 9:00 pm and a little ten-year-old me woke up with a breathing tube in my throat ( which is highly uncomfortable FYI) and my mom and dad holding my hand. When they took the tube out of my throat I was hysterical. I was in so much pain ( I don't recommend a liver transplant. Kinda hurts to avoid it if possible). I could barely move but at least now I have a cool scar that's my initial.

"How do you feel, are you okay?"

My cousin Rachelle said repeatedly. Me being the highly irritated preteen I was I said

"Yea I'm fine omg why do people keep asking me that"

I was not keeping in mind I had a life-saving surgery only that I was in a foreign place and truly wanted to go home but couldn't. After my surgery (around October 29th) something horrible happened I was living in a bowl of shock, you know like when you can't breathe or when your friends surprise you? like that but 10x worse. I soon started school in LA, it was a homeschooling thing sorta-ish. I met one on one with my teachers every day. Sima was her name, Sima was sweet and also foreign, she wasn't from here which made her very interesting. She told me about her family and where she was from and how she ended up in Los Angeles, But that's a story for another time. I remember this one time when she taught me the word, Fatigue; meaning to be tired. It was the first word I constantly used over and over again every time I would get drastically tired my mom would say

"Taylor, what's wrong?"

"Oh nothing I'm just fatigued"

I replied with a smart attitude. Being sick wasn't that bad. I got everything I wanted and more but going through that was something so scarring and traumatic, I was only ten. I always felt since that day I didn't deserve to go through that. I could never accept the fact that it wasn't anyone's fault, I just happened to be sick and I couldn't change that. During the next few months I and my mom stayed at the Ronald McDonald House which was quite nice except for the fact there was this lady there named Lola, And Lola always asked us the same question every day

"Going to the cafe?"

She would ask repeatedly. She was just doing her job which was fine but still, it was highly annoying and my mom would always reply with

" you know it, Lola!".

Which we were not but that was 100% fine. My mom always made the situation we were in more fun and made sure I didn't just stay in the room and that I interacted with people and always had fun

She is honestly my biggest inspiration. She's always been there & I just can't imagine the pain she went through when I was going through that. She calls me her warrior but little does she know, she's mine. That's beside the point. Towards the end of the year (around December) I started getting ready to finally go back home or that's what I thought... On December 24th, 2017 Tailor Bangkok was once again admitted. I felt like it was an endless cycle of doctor's appointments and hospital visits. I was so tired of it and the worst part is that I was there on Christmas! At Least that's how I remember it.