This is My Story

Where it All Started

It all began on the day I was born, on September 3rd, 1997 at 12:35 p.m. my parents welcomed two baby girls. I, along with my twin sister weighed 1 pound 10 ounces. As you can tell by the weight, we were premature. We were born at just over 25 weeks, and were 3 months premature. I was so small that I could fit in the palm of my dad's hand. The doctors told my parents that they didn't think that we would make it. Being a premie baby had many complications and to boot my sister and I were in two different hospitals, so it wasn't easy for my parents. With all the complications that come to being premature we were hooked up on many machines to help us do the simple neccessities of life such as breathing. But, it also meant being prodded and poked at by doctors and nurses. One day, the doctors were trying to fix a complication by feeding a tube from my foot to my heart/lungs. But on the way, the tube went straight through my bowel and poked a hole. From there I underwent surgery to repair the hole and I had to use a colostomy bag. Being a premie I also suffered with asthma, respiratory and cardiovascular problems, and delays in development. I stayed in the hospital for the first three months in my life because of all the complications and reprecussions of being premature. I was so tiny my parents were so scared to hold us.

During childhood I remember many events that I would have to sit out because of the reprecussions of being premature. For instance, I remember having to stop playing so I could take my medicine or to stop for fifteen minutes to take my mask, which helped me breathe because my asthma and respiratory problems were so bad. I also remember that it hurt to run around and play for long periods of time because I had really bad respiratory problems. I remember getting sick often because if my twin sister got sick, then it wasn't until a few days later or so that I would get sick. With so many complications and weak immune system I've gotten pneumonia more times than a person should and sometimes it almost put me on my death bed. One time, I remember crystal clear being in the hospital because I was sick. I was in the hospital for about a week, and when my sister came to visit me after school she brought all the cards that the class made for me. I remember it made my day, and that I couldn't wait to go back to school to see my friends. Being in the hospital and being prodded and poked so often because I was sick often from having such a weak immune system of being premature made me hate needles. And today I still do, I absolutely hate getting needles. However being sick and always going to and from the hospital made me want to give back; I want to become a nurse or maybe even a doctor so I can give back to community, because they helped me get better and be healthy more than once.

With all my breathing problems and my mom getting pregnant again, my parents decided to move out of the city of Toronto and move 4 hours away into the small town where my grandparents live. My parents hoped that this move would be for the better since it was a small town they were hoping that there wasn't going to be as much pollution which would make it easier for us to breathe, and hopefully become healthier.

Being in a small town there was no smog or triggers for causing us to find it hard to breathe. It was a perfect environment for us to grow up in and stay healthy. Eventually I stopped taking most of medication that I needed when in the city, I was whined off the mask and just took my puffers daily.

In grade school, I loved to run, but I would always end up in the bottom five because of my asthma. It wasn't until around grade 5 or 6 that I could pace myself and particpate more in gym and heavy induced activities. I would always particpate in the track in field events, being in the running long jump and a track event always the 100 metre dash, up until the grade and age wasn't allowed to compete in the 100 metre. I would then run the next race above the 100 metre, like the 150 metre. When I competed in the race, I would always have my puffer at the end so I could breathe easier when I was finished. I loved running, I wanted to continue in high school but I was so scared of the big change that I didn't continue.

I know that I have over come the repercussions of being a premie baby. I know that I still have to deal with some of the longterm developmental effects like asthma and anxiety, ectetra. I still have to use my puffers, not daily, but when I am sick and when I find it hard to breathe. I have scars to show that I was a premie baby, like the long scar that alligns my abdomen and right hip where I was operated on when the doctors poked a hole thorugh my bowel.

Being a premie baby has shaped my life completely. It has made me the person who I am today, I feel like I would be a different person and I would live a different life if I wasn't a premature baby. The doctors were wrong, I beat the odds and survived. I am perfectly fine and very healthy. Just like Kelly Clarkson once said, "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger." I believe that I am a stronger person because of the past I have been through.