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My Signifigant Chilhood Experience College Composition Essay

Rosa Rodriguez

College Composition

Teacher

September 28th, 2020

My Significant Childhood Experience

The topic I chose to write about is number 4. Number 4 was, consider what you read in "The Chase" by Annie Dillard. Choose one significant incident from your childhood experiences and narrate the incident as vividly as you can. Include the details: Where did the event take place? What did people say? How were they dressed? What was the weather like?

The significant incident from my childhood was a bit later in my life then most childhood experiences. It was towards the end of the 2018-2019 school year; I was in the 11th grade and was 17 years old. On Saturday, March 30th, 2019 I had just gotten home from shopping at Walmart with my mother and started unloading the groceries from the back of the van when it happened. I was just going to pick something up from the van when my dad came outside and asked if I needed any help. I had not noticed that he had come out and when he came around the corner of the van and spoke, I was scared and jumped. I slammed my right knee forward and it hit the back bumper of the van, I dropped what I had picked up, and whirled around shouting in pain as I leaned back to sit on the bumper.

I immediately noticed that my right knee was out of place, my dad moved over and started reaching for me asking if he could see it. I screamed no and not to touch it as I was in pain, my parents told me to get inside so I stood and tried to walk but I couldn't put any pressure on it so I had to walk in a weird hop jump walk. I finally made my way inside and they asked me what happened I told them, and I also said that I think that I dislocated my knee but they were doubtful I told them how it looked like outside where my kneecap wasn't in the right spot and then it went back to normal. Despite what I had told them my idea of my knee being dislocated was again thrown out my dad saying that he knows how a dislocated knee feels as it happened to him, and I immediately said well it doesn't feel the same for every person dad. My mom piped in saying that if I was still in pain tomorrow, she would take me to the hospital to get me checked out and to see what was wrong even though I already told her what had happened.

Later that night my mom and dad left to go to Danbury to the casino for a night out together and I stayed in the living room watching movies and tv while they were gone. As I called my mother saying I was going to bed I still could not walk properly as I made my way back to my bedroom to go to bed. I couldn't even bed my knee at all if I tried, I would be in pain. The next morning, I was still in pain I couldn't even stand so I had to scooch myself across the floor to my living room where I then used the couch behind me to lift myself up. And I told them what had happened last night and this morning and then my mom told me to get dressed that we were going to the hospital to get me checked out, I was in too much pain to really argue with her so I did as I was told and got ready to go.

We go to the hospital and she dropped me off at the emergency doors and as I got out and made my way in she left and found a place to park before joining me and talking to the lady at the front desk so I could get looked at. When I had to join my mom at the window to get my bracelet a man who had been in there let me use his had to help myself walk to my mom. I got to my mom and was getting my bracelet when the man left and grabbed a wheelchair for me I said thank you and sat down. My mom finished up with what she was doing and then walked over to a chair that was beside a door, I wheeled myself over and parked in front of the door. About 20 minutes or so later the door in front of me opened and the person asked if I was Olivia Dunbar, I said yes wheeled myself in and mom followed.

I honestly thought that that was funny the place I was meant to go was the door I parked in front of. As things carried on, she asked different things such as what happened, what is your pain level so on and so forth. After a while she left after saying something or to make sure something was ready for me. She came back and took me to go get x-rays done on my knee, and since I couldn't stand properly, I had to use a walker to help me stand. We took several x-rays before I was taken back to my mom and the lady left again but came back and had a leg immobilizer that was supposed to keep my leg from moving. During this appointment I was told I had a possible fracture. Another appointment was made, and I was sent home until then.

When I got home from my appointment my mom went downstairs and grabbed a spare pair of crutches and brought them up where my dad resized them for me. I could not make my way around the house. The leg immobilizer went from just above my knee to just above mid-thigh. When my next appointment came, I was told I had to have an ultrasound done on my knee. What I was then told was completely different, I was told that I had a possible torn meniscus. Then I was told that I had another appointment at the Mora hospital to get an mri done on my knee. A few days later when it came time for my appointment I went and used a wheelchair and had to fill out even more paperwork. I was getting sick of all the paperwork and questionnaire I had to keep taking every time I went in for an appointment.

I got into the room and had to take off everything metal I was wearing because it would mess with the machine. I got into the next room with the machine and had to lift myself from the wheelchair to a slab that would put me in the machine. It was kind of hard to do considering the state of my knee. I was finally laid down and they stuffed some stuff around my knee gave me headphones and asked what music I wanted to listen to I replied with country. I was in that machine for about 20 minutes and then I could leave. I had to put my brace back on and put my earrings and other stuff back in, honestly it was kind of annoying. The lady wheeled me back to my mom in the waiting room and we went back home where I impatiently and full of worry had to wait a few more days for the results to come in and my next appointment was a day after that.

My next appointment was eventful to say the least. Now I come to find out it isn't a fracture or a torn meniscus, it was something completely different which did turn out to be a dislocated knee though, the worse part was that the tendon that was keeping my kneecap in place partially torn when it dislocated. And then after all this time my knee became swollen because of the fluid in my knee, which was blood. They then had told me that If the blood wasn't down to an acceptable level soon then they would have to numb my knee, stick a needle in it and suck the excess blood out, to relieve the pressure on my knee.

Good news the blood in my knee went down to an acceptable level, it was apparently absorbed back into my body. So, I don't have to have my knee numbed and a needle stuck in it yeah. I fear needles so I was relieved that that didn't have to happen. Ok when I just got me second brace I couldn't really bend my knee very well yet, so I couldn't get my shoe on Nick the guy who was explaining the brace and he had gotten it for me and showed me how to put it on grabbed my shoe and put it on for me saying that I can be Cinderella. As of April 25th, 2019, I no longer need the crutches, but I still have a lot of restrictions, and things that I need to do.

At this point I have already had 4 excuses for school. I had people carry my backpack to my classes. I got to ride in the elevator. I got to leave a few minutes early from every class. I got to go out a different door than everyone else otherwise I would miss the bus, it happened the first time before I could leave early from classes and go out a different door. I had to have been on and do over 20 different exercises and machines before my physical therapy was over. It was kind of sad before I started my physical therapy my right leg was so much skinnier than my left. My physical therapist had said that I have been improving every time since she sees me.

She had also told me that I can start to ween myself off the brace and that I don't have to where it all the time but if I know that I am going to going hiking or that I am going to be walking a lot then to where the brace. She had also told me that I can now bear weight where before I couldn't and then she told me to let pain be my limit so if I am in pain then don't lift that item.

Now I am doing fine, and I am all better. I still have a few problems even though I am done with that. One of my problems is that I still can't really walk long distances, but if I do I have to take frequent breaks. Another thing is that if I don't take any breaks when I walk long distances my leg starts to shake and feels like it will fall from under me. Sometimes it just aches, and feels like it twitches, these are annoying to deal with, but I make do. Also, the biggest thing I believe I have to deal with is the underlying fear that it will happen again, it might be worse if it happens again, or that it might even happen to my left knee. I am all better, but I will just have to deal with all these things.