I parked the car just outside of the hospital. Don’t worry, I’m not sick nor am I visiting anyone that’s sick. As I walk out of the car, I feel a little excited and nervous. You see, I haven’t been to this hospital in sixteen years. The last time I was there when I was about seven, though I have been there since I was born. I’m a premature baby. I was born ten weeks early and I weighed about two pounds. The doctors didn’t think I would make it. I spent another six months in the hospital before I was discharged, but I would come back again in another two months. This time it was a lung infection. The doctors predicted I would always be sick, frail, and not live that long. That’s what it felt like to my parents for the first seven years of my life as I had one illness after the other. When I was seven, it was my last time in the hospital, though I would still have problems. Sixteen years later, here I am again. I have grown into a beautiful young lady that hardly gets sick. And I have accomplished a lot. I have run marathons and I’m great in other sports as well. As I walk in the hospital, many people stare at me. The first thing the receptionist says to me is, “Wow, you’re very tall!” Very true, since I’m six foot five. I had huge growth spurts in my teenage years. I must have grown five inches in one year alone. “Where to?” she asked. “The NICU,” I answer. She directs me to where it is. As I walk the long hallway, many doctors, nurses, and patients stare at me. I must be quite a sight: dark blond hair that falls to my shoulders; strong legs and arms; a pretty summer dress that is sunshine yellow; and the fact that I’m very tall. Eventually, I arrive at the NICU. There I am greeted by Doctor Suzanne Pearl. I’m told by my parents that she is the one that led the team that took care of me. I said, “Hello Dr. Pearl. My name is Kathleen Marcetty and I believe that I was one of your patients years ago.” She looks at me in amazement before saying, “But you were so small! How did you get so big?” I shrugged my shoulders before I said, “I want to thank you and your team for saving my life when I was younger. I have done so much and I just wanted to thank you.” With tears in my eyes and her eyes, I pull her into a big hug. “It’s the first time I held you in sixteen years,” she sobbed. Other doctors and nurses cried over this sight of us locked in embrace. I spent the rest of the day chatting with the other doctors and nurses in the ward along with worried parents. They seemed to have a lot more hope when they saw me. As I left the NICU, I gave Dr. Pearl one last hug. Besides my mother, they have given life and I will not take it for granted.
Posted on: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 13:55:42 +0000
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