As I walked home with my cousin, Mary, in the cold chilly day with only a light every mile, I warmed my face and ears. As I touched the back of my left ear, I discovered a bump. “What’s this?” I exclaimed in a frightened voice. My cousin jumped like a kangaroo in fright as she said “What?” “This!” I exclaimed in response. Then she saw it, so we ran back to the house. I hope this thing has a cure. What is it called? Will I survive?

I sat in the chilly hospital, which was a freezer that my grandma made me go to. Alone, I sat, with no one at my side but my grandma. It was so silent that you could hear a pin drop. Then, a handsome looking doctor with dark hair and hazel colored eyes came in to the room, wearing a long white robe with brown dress shoes. I thought what I had, would be something minor. For example, I thought I could just drink any old medicine and it would go away, but little did I know and little did the doctors know of what was happening.

Then, Doctor Gonzalez walked in and said, “It’s an emergency! We have to operate on, Arely! We have to remove this thing before it gets worse. It’s a tumor.” Wow! He said that as if he was being chased by a herd of wild beasts I thought to myself. Is it that bad? “And it might be…” he said looking down at the floor with a long sudden pause. “It might be what?” I shouted with tears almost coming out.
“It might be cancer,” he said with this chocolaty voice trying to be as clam as possible. “We will have to do some further research on that tumor,” he said to cheer me up. “So it might not be cancer!” I exclaimed with a smile that was a full moon. “Yeah, there is a possibility that it is not cancer,” he told me. However, his eyes told me no as they looked away. Then, he ruffled his papers together trying to straighten them up. He called my grandma’s name as he headed out the door. “Do you have any questions?” he asked in a quiet voice like a mouse. Then she said, “What’s the truth?” in a nervous voice.

“That’s it,” he whispered like a mouse again. “I wouldn’t lie to you or Arely.” Then, I tried opening the door. I wondered if something was wrong. While I barely picked out the light yellow door into the bright hall full of lights with light blue walls, I tried to listen and look without being seen or caught.

“Oh my, are you trying to freak her out?! She is already scared!” she screamed, pushing him right into the wall. He looked like a little kid lost in the park. My grandma was so mad she was a tomato. Then, she turned and I ran back and closed the door. Just when they were about to kill each other, they came back in. “She is barely a little seven year old!” my grandma kept on going like a lion trying to protect her babies. Then, it came to me… Am I going to survive? Is my mom coming? How is she coming? I’ll have to tell her! How will she take it? How are they going to take this off?


“Let’s go!” my grandma said in a candy sweet voice. Then, Doctor Gonzalez said, “You’ll be okay I promise!” Which made me feel safe and comfortable and I truly believed him. But would I really survive this mess alive? Why do I have to go through this mess? Why me? Why me? I asked myself all these questions as I walked on the gray carpet and through the pretty yellow door.


On our way home, I looked out the small, gray Honda’s window and saw all the children playing outside in the park with trees, grass, and beautiful flowers with no worries and no problems whatsoever when I had to sit there, with this huge problem on top of me. Well, maybe that’s why! I have this problem to survive. I have to survive! I just have to! So I started whispering trying to go to sleep, “I have to survive! I just do!” My grandma started smiling and it was the only sun shine on that gloomy ride. Then she said,” Yes you do! You have to survive! When you are in the darkest hole because you feel you won’t survive you just keep on going.” But her eyes were just saying, ‘how are we going to get through this?’


Finally, we got home and called my mom. As tears ran down my face it seemed like a race team was running the 50 yard dash and my cheeks were the race track. I told her I had to get an operation because of an emergency. Then she started crying as she said, “I’ll be there tomorrow!” I hung up slowly after she told me how much she loved me and that we were going to win this battle, so I went to sleep. As I waited the next morning, it seemed like centuries even though it just was a couple hours. Every time there was a knock, I would run up to the door, but it wouldn't be her. Then, there was a final knock. It was her! She ran towards me like a lightning bolt and hugged me from behind, which made me jump at first, but then I felt the warmness of my mom. So I turn around and saw her while tears running down her cheeks like if it were a race track. “I’m truly sorry,” she said with a sad calm voice. “Why?” I responded, but if I had known the answer I would have just left it there.


“Well…” she said with a long pause. “Well what?” I responded in a confused voice. “Well… we discovered this tumor when you were one,” she said in a slow voice that was a snail while acting really nervous. “When I was one?” I shouted, still a little confused. As she explained to me, she said that the doctors said that my face would be all crooked, but I still could live with it. She also told me how they were going to operate me ,but I wouldn’t go to sleep after they gave me the medicine and so they told me to come another day. Then, this doctor told her that I could die because my veins weren’t really formed yet so they could cut one of them and I could have some serious problems. Also, they could cut my heart vein and I would die so she said no. “But you could have told me at least!” I exclaimed. “Have you done your x-rays yet?” she said trying to change the subject. I was tired, so I just agreed and said, “No I haven’t”, calmly turning around. “Okay we will go tomorrow,” she said with an upset voice. But what if it is Cancer? I don’t want to find that out! I’m not ready!


Yet, we went and I had to sit in the warm bus that had green and red seats. I sat there looking through the window with nothing to do except counting cars, and I was at 210 gray cars when we stopped and I realized that we were there. I had to change into different clothes that had a hole on the back. I had to lie on a black bed that was a rock as they put me in a giant white tube with blue lights inside with a cloth on my eyes so they wouldn’t get hurt. When they finished they took me out and gave the x-rays to my mom. Now, all that was left was to give the x-rays to the doctor so they could figure out how they’re going to take this thing off.


We went to the doctor’s immediately in a small, yellow taxi with black stripes under the windows. Then, we entered the big white and gray hospital and asked for Doctor Gonzalez. A nurse led us through the light blue halls to the room 502. “Here they are,” my mom said as she handed him the x-rays. “Okay, thanks”, he responded with the most fake smile I ever saw, that said okay you can leave. As I waited for a response, I started to get all nervous. Will they be able to operate? I started to get impatient and started to walk around. Why isn’t he responding? Why is he taking so long? “You’ll be fine.” “When are you going to take it out?” I asked. “In three days,” he said in a serious voice. “Really,” I said in disbelief as a huge smile spread across my face that brightened the whole room. Will they actually take it out? Would my face get ruined? Will it be Cancer? Would I still be able to go to school like a normal child? But that is the thing I’m not normal because of this tumor.


“Okay, we will be there in three days,” my mom said. “Wait, will there have to be someone to donate blood?” “Oh yeah, I was going to tell you that. We are going to need her brother,” he said while he looked at my mom straight in the eyes. As we walked, she said, “We have to call your brother! Hey, do you have a phone, Doctor Gonzalez?” she said, turning and stopping. “Yes, it’s right around the corner. “We got to the clean public phone with no writing. My mom marked the number (951)565-0575. After a while, my brother answered the phone. “Hello?” he said “Hey you have to come over here to Mexico,” She exclaimed. “But… um… well…,” He said. “What are you saying?” my mom asked.





“Well, I can’t,” he said in a voice that was upset. “What do you mean? You can’t it’s your little sister for God sake!” she exclaimed in a furious voice. “I have school and finals. I can’t miss them,” he said trying to give a reason good enough. “Well I don’t know how, but you are coming,” she exclaimed. “Okay, I’ll be there tomorrow,” he said in a mad voice as he sighed. So we drove back in a blue taxi and I went to sleep. The next day, I woke up at 12:00 p.m. from how tried I was. He was there. Would we really have to share the same blood? Will it hurt? What if I do have cancer and it spreads throughout my body? I don’t know how, but I’m going to survive! Yes, I am. But the only problem, how?


The next day went by fast. I ate corn on the cob from the Plaza. It was delicious. Finally, the next day came. To my luck the only thing I got to eat was a small, round bowl of cereal. Then, by the time we got there I was hungry I had to change to the clothes hospitals make you wear. I asked “How long is this going to take?” “Oh, only four hours!” the doctor said as some other doctors gave me some medicine as Doctor Gonzalez was promising me that he wouldn’t give me a shot. I fell asleep for the medicine was making me sleepy and I prayed to god that I will survive.


When I got out, the operation took ten hours. I woke up at night throwing up and my mom was asleep. Then, she woke up. I finally, realized that I had a bunch of needles in my hands I freaked out. I was confused because the doctor had promised me that he wouldn’t give me any shots whatsoever. As my mom thanked God for this miracle, she gave me a big bear hug. I fell asleep because I was really tired. The next morning, the doctor came in and said, “It’s not Cancer! This tumor was wrapped on to all the most important veins, and that’s why this took so long instead of the four hours I had said.” “Hey, why did you give me shots? You promised me you wouldn’t!” I replied with a mad voice and a hungry face that would say feed me, please. “But it didn’t hurt now did it?” he asked in a voice that says I’m right. “I guess not,” I replied with a sigh. Even through this time was rough, I’m glad I got to live through this. It taught me to always be strong, no matter what life brings me.