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Moving
In the middle of 6th grade, my family was moving from Hayward, where we lived with my grandpa, to Sacramento. During that time it was online learning due to covid so I didn't have to worry about missing any days of school. It was difficult moving away from my friends. By the time it was 8th grade, everyone grew closer and it felt like I was left behind. Near the end of the school it became more difficult to say goodbye to all my old friends. I eventually learned that sometimes you have to accept things as they are and you just have to let go.
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Collapsed Lung (Pneumothorax)
It happened one morning after eating breakfast, I was lying in bed then suddenly I felt something move in my chest. I thought I poked my heart, my dad assumed it was just digestion. I tried going to school and told my friends who joked that it was a heart attack. The pain was so sharp and constant that I couldn’t participate in PE. I went home, couldn’t do homework, and went straight to bed hoping it would disappear overnight. The next morning, the pain was still there so I decided not to go to school and my dad took me to the ER. After several tests, the doctors figured it out and knew the solution: surgery. This terrified me as it was the last thing I wanted but I didn’t have a choice. I was worried about how my mom would react since she is sensitive when it comes to my health and didn’t want her to panic. I trusted the doctors enough to not be scared.
When I awoke from surgery I felt pain on my side when I noticed and felt a tube inserted on the side of my chest. Every time someone moved the tube or myself, the pain intensified. My recovery took about a week and included breathing exercises and slowly getting out of bed twice a day. My sister joked around to keep my spirit up, and my mom stayed overnight with me sometimes, making sure I was ok.
Once I was discharged, I returned to school the next couple of days to get any missing assignments and make up for missed tests and quizzes. I was dizzy and weak from spending so much time in bed with a damaged lung. I worked with my teachers, who were understanding and patient, to catch up. My dad told me I handled the situation better than when my sister had a hospital scare which didn’t even turn out to be real.