Hello

     Some of my family members and I went to Wal-Mart to get things for my mother’s wedding shower that was approaching on Sunday. While walking the isles in the store, I felt my left eye twitch. I told my mother of this, but she said, “You’re probably just exhausted.” I went home and slept for eight hours but that did not stop the twitch. The next day, the twitch kept happening but I shrugged it off. I then proceeded to get dressed for the family reunion that was held at the community center down the street from my house.

Monday morning. I felt very dizzy and drowsy, but still I walked over to my grandmother’s house for a last meal with my family who was headed back to Chicago. I walked in, greeted everyone, then sat down on a bar stool. After a couple minutes, I zoned out then everything went black.

    I woke up to my brother saying, “Kahla, are you okay?” My panicking grandmother was calling my step father to take me to the hospital because I had just had a seizure. When I heard I had a seizure, I panicked as well and started crying. My step dad pulled up and my cousin carried me to the car. After the necessary people got in the car to help with me, we left for the hospital. I remember my cousin giving me water to cool me down during the lengthy drive. Upon arriving to the hospital, I was wheel chaired to the waiting room until my name was called. I finally was called to the back to see a doctor. As they checked my vitals, the seizure had started back up. Because I wouldn’t stop seizing, the doctors gave me some medicine. Then I had to be airlifted to the University Medical Center in Jackson, MS.  The little I do remember about the airplane ride was very nerve wrecking for myself and my mother who was also there with me. Despite the situation, the airplane was rather fun for me. I would then lose and gain consciousness throughout the entire ride. We made it there awfully fast. I had guessed the medicine had finally kicked in because I remember nothing from that point on. The next day I remember seeing a urine catheter running from my body. The doctor suggested that I get up and walk around to get some type of exercise. Once I walked I hallways of the hospital, I went back to my room and was offered food from the hospital cafeteria. I ate the food that my mother had bought for me. To lighten the mood and calm my worried friends and family, I posted pictures on my Instagram page to assure them that I was going to be fine. My cousin came to stay with me and she bought her family to sit with me for a while. That’s the last thing I remember before having another seizure later on that night. After all the convulsing, everything went blank.

I woke up to three doctors staring me in my face and asking me questions like who the president was and what year it was. I remember I had only gotten one question wrong but all the others right. I then gave my mom a confused look and asked, “What happened?” She replies, “You were in a coma for two months.” I was shocked at her answer because a two month coma was the last thing I’d expected to hear. I then learned it was true because after finally getting to talk to my friends, they were back in school. Then incident had happened in July. My mother had to go back to work after her job graciously let her take off to take care of me. So I had a lot of family and friends to show their love and support as I was going through this horrific incident.

Friends and family would stay with me during the week while my mother came on the weekends. When I had woken, I could do very little movement. The respirators and tubes hooked to me were a big factor as to why I had very little movement. Because I was in fetal position for so long, my joints and muscles had become weak. Each and every day, the doctors would have me to do an exercise to gain self control. A month after the seizure, I was discharged from the UMC hospital. I thought we were going home so of course I was very much joyful after being in the hospital for so long but my mother said there were other plans. We then pulled up at Forrest General hospital here in Hattiesburg, MS. I was admitted into another hospital to start rehabilitation so I could walk again. Throughout the weekday, we’d perform occupational and physical therapy to strengthen my muscles once again. This was no easy task. Each time they touched me; I would pass out or vomit. But after a few weeks, things got better. I became better. I learned to deal with a lot of things, especially the pain that came with getting better. But I grew close to my nurses and “hospital family” and still am to this day. They helped me and motivated me. They wanted to see me doing better.

            After another month, I was finally discharged from Forrest General hospital. I was discharged the day before my mother’s wedding day and all my family was home waiting for my arrival. I was my mother’s bridesmaid. I couldn’t enjoy it like I wanted to because I was in a wheelchair, but I was still happy to be there to witness a beautiful new start of my mother’s life. My most memorable moment of the wedding is when my step dad and I had a father-daughter dance. Although I couldn’t really move, we really enjoyed the dance and we’ve bonded wonderfully since.

            After all that I’ve been through and with a testimony such as mine, I decided to rededicate my life to our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. I got baptized one Wednesday. Unfortunately, the water and cold air from being baptized made me sick once again. I was finally free from hospital living but I still had to go to continue therapy. I was sick and still was trying to complete my therapy. One day in particular, I had grown very sick at therapy but no one knew what was wrong. They then check my temperature and it was high so they sent me home. And once my grandmother found out, she thought I could sweat it out. My mother then called my neurologists to tell him of the things I had been going through. He advised me to go see a hospital. That’s when I found out that I had already lost two pints of blood and that I needed a blood transfusion. This called me to spend about a week in the hospital. I left the hospital and had to pick back up where I left off with therapy. I had stopped going for a while because of one of my many surgeries. Then, I started back with therapy at Southern Bone & Joint in Hattiesburg, MS where I’m currently still going to therapy. I’ve been with them for two years. I have had three surgeries and still have more to go.

My legs are not quite strong but stronger than what they were. I walk with a walker. I can complete many tasks on my own. I even enrolled in online campuses in August of 2016 at the University of Southern Miss. Once I was done with those courses, I then felt like it was time for me to make my next big step. I moved on a college campus and I’m doing better than ever. I’m getting around campus just fine. I’m meeting new people from different cultures and diversities. I live on my own in the dorms. And I can’t wait to see my dreams come true. So with that being said, nothing stops unless you want it to.