Am I dying? What about dance team? Is this ever going to end?  I have never felt so bad in my entire life. I’ve been sick, but not this sick. Not knowing what’s going on with my body is the worst feeling ever. For one week I felt so helpless and weak. I couldn’t walk on my own.  Let alone breathe.  Even the doctor couldn’t comprehend what was going on with me. After spending about 2 ½ hours at the hospital, the doctor came to the conclusion that I might have some type of pneumonia or maybe even the new respiratory disease going around. Oh why me?

The virus is called EV-D68. It causes coughing and wheezing according to the Center for Disease and Control and Prevention. In some cases your symptoms can be similar to a small cold. In the Children’s Hospital in Colorado more than 900 patients have been treated, 86 children have been admitted to the hospital. At the local Children’s Mercy Hospitals, 12 percent of more than 500 children have needed intensive care, according to Mary Jackson, the director of the infectious disease department. There has been a spike in these cases in Kansas City, Missouri and in Chicago. Currently there is not a vaccine available for this disease, but to take preventative measures continue to wash your hands and keep things sanitized.

The week I was sick was the worst week of my life. With all the coughing and sneezing keeping me up all night, I was restless. The first couple of days I thought I was just dealing with a cold, but I wasn’t getting better. In fact, I was getting worst.

By the time I went to the doctor on that Monday, I couldn’t walk to the bathroom from my room without feeling winded. Keep in mind, my bathroom is in my room. My chest started to tighten and I was so weak.

As the week went on I started feeling light headed and dizzy and I couldn’t walk by myself. My mom had to assist me in my daily routine. Getting up to brush my teeth, showering, eating, it was all a struggle. I slept for two days straight. No matter how much I slept, I was exhausted all the time.

My suffering caused me to miss a whole week of dance team practice. Because of this, I had to sit out of the Rockhurst Performance and Sion’s pep rally. I just want to dance. Don’t get me wrong, I most definitely tried to perform but it just wasn’t happening. I tried to attend a practice on Sunday, but my coach could tell by my demeanor that I wouldn’t be able to execute what I needed to. So she sent me home. My doctor took me out of dance for a whole week. Is that really necessary?

Now that the torturous week is over, I am on cloud nine. I can finally dance again and even go outside. I know that sounds strange, but I was stuck in my house for a whole week. I love my house, but being stuck in there for a week was not the business.

I hope I never have to go through a week like that again. A week I don’t want to remember.