"The Miracle"

Since I was born, I always had food problems, so I always had stomach problems with all kinds of food. My parents didn’t know what was happening to me, until I was one year old. My parents took me to the doctor and he said that I was allergic to soy. So I couldn’t ate anything packed for example: Doritos, tortrix, pork, jam, sausage, pizza, chocolate, and many other things. I could just eat homemade food and my mother had to read always what the food contained so I wouldn’t get sick. I kept growing normally taking care of everything that I putted inside my mouth.

 When I was three years old my mother started noticing that I was beginning to swell, she gave me more water than usual so the swelling stopped.  The idea of this was that I would go more frequently to the bathroom, this didn’t worked. Instead of that, I started to swell more. My parents took me to the hospital. When the doctor saw me he said that this was something more serious, so he called a pediatric nephrologist. She made me a lot of tests with different machines, and she said I had nephrotic syndrome. This was a sickness that affected the immune system. With this sickness every time I had fever, flu, or other disease, my kidney would be damage. To prevent this to keep happening the doctor gave me heavy dose of steroids. This was the first part of the treatment because if the steroids didn’t work they were going to gave me something stronger. My mom and my dad were very worried because the side effects of the steroids were dangerous. Besides that I was taking the steroids, the doctors told me that I couldn’t eat anything with salt. After five days of being in the hospital I returned to my home. In my house I kept taking steroids approximately six months. After six months I had a relapse, I felt really bad. I started to swell again, and I had really bad headaches. I went to the hospital for the second time. When I was there the doctor said they had to make a kidney biopsy, because the steroids were no longer useful. My dad didn’t want to make the biopsy here, in Guatemala, so we decided to go United States to make the biopsy. When we arrived to the hospital, in USA, the doctor told us that they wouldn’t do the biopsy because they thought it wasn’t the correct thing to do. They told us that we had to double the steroids dose to control the relapse. We went back to Guatemala, the doctors didn’t agree to double the dose, but finally they did it. After two months of taking the steroids I had another relapse. It was very difficult to go to the school because I was very sick so I was an irregular student. In this point I had to return for a third time to the hospital, because the side effects of the steroid were bothering me a lot. The side effects of the steroids cause me to have bleeding ulcers in the stomach, and several headaches. The headaches were cause by a pseudo brain tumor. The doctors decided that they could not wait no longer to do the kidney biopsy, even if it was dangerous. In the biopsy, they introduced me something that was like a needle to take out a tiny piece of my kidney to analyze it. When they analyzed it they knew I should start to take a different medicine.

So I started to take a different medicine and I went out of the hospital.  I entered in a remission period, so I was getting better.

Next year on January I went to school again, but I have to be very carefully because I could get sick again with any flu at school.  By this time I was 5 years old.  I kept my diet of no salt in my food and going to the doctor to make me test to see how I was doing.

My mom took me with a lot of doctors because she wanted me to take natural medicines, but she couldn’t found too much help.

When my sixth birthday was coming I caught a fever virus at school, and I got really sick.  I had really high fevers in that time, around 40 degrees or more, and that made the nefrotic syndrome to activate.

One night I went really sick and I couldn’t sleep. Around 5 a.m. my mom said I was really bad.  Then she saw that I had my feet and hands purple colored and I still had fever. My mom took me to the hospital immediately.

 When we got there, we entered to the hospital as fast as we could. When the doctor saw me, she thought I was death.  So she began to make many tests to see what was going on.

On the next day the doctors made me some tests because I was feeling a lot of pain in my stomach.  In them they saw that I had problems in my intestine and it could be appendicitis.  So they had to make a surgery to take out my appendix. When I went out of the surgery I got worse, because there were complications.  My lungs started to fill with water.  They had to connect me to a machine so I could breathe.  The doctors put me to sleep.  They connected me a feeding tube so I could eat. One week later it was my birthday.

The doctors told to my parents that they had done all the possible things they could but they could expect the worse even dead. My parents were devastated with this notice and they didn’t knew what to do, they told them this the day of my birthday.

On the same day, I was still sleeping; my mother went to pray to the church. She said to god that he should his will, but if he let me live she wanted me not to suffer and if not god could take me with him. When she came back to the hospital something happened I don’t know if it was a miracle or a coincidence, I think it was a miracle. When my mother was in my room with me suddenly all my machines turned off the power didn’t went off only my machines, this was something really weird. Since that day since that event, I started to get better it was the best birthday present I could ever had.  One day I was dying and on the next day I stared to get better I think it is a Miracle. Two days after my birthday I started to go to the bathroom again, because I was not going very frequently. All my vital signs stared to get better too. So little by little I stared to get better. The doctors started to take out the machines. First they took me out the machine were I ate so I could ate normally. Then they took me away he machine for breathing so I could breathe normally. Finally after being 2 months or more in the hospital in intensive care, I went out of the hospital. In my house I kept drinking medicines and kept with my diet, approximately 6 months.

Now I eat normally, well I’m still allergic to soy, pork, chocolate and other things but imp happy because I’m still alive. I don’t think I could ever pay all the doctors what they did for me but I’m very grateful with them. I’m very grateful with my parents and all my family because they were always there for support. With the one that I’m especially grateful with is god he is the one who I own my life thanks to him I survived and I would never forget that, I hope someday I will find the reason why he let me live. Until then I’m grateful with him to let me live being a healthy and happy person all this years, until today.

" A Hard Lesson"

Hi my name is Fernando Gereda and I’m witting this article to tell you my experience. This is a real experience and I want to tell you my experience with weather, because this is something that could help you if you are in the same situation. I will never want any of you to be in the same situation that I was but, you never know what weather can bring to you.

All started last year on November 17. I was going to a trip to Argentina to learn how to ski. My father had been planning this trip for the entire year; I was very excited to do this trip too.  We were going to travel to the coldest part of Argentina, and one of the coldest places in the world. We were going to a place called Bariloche, or Tierra del Fuego. We had to wake up at 5 a.m. so it was very cold outside, but not compared what I would felt in Bariloche. We had to take 2 or 3 flights to get there. The airplane, when we were near Bariloche, didn’t stop moving because all of the wind.  When we got there I didn’t think it would be so cold outside so I only put a jacket and a hat. When we went outside it was freezing. In five minutes my hands and cheeks were red, so I had to wear a scarf, another jacket, and gloves.  After that we went to the hotel, I had to sleep with like 3 blankets so I didn’t have too much cold at night.

The next day when I wake up it was a normal day like any other, well that’s what I thought. We were going to have our first lesson about ski. I didn’t knew anything about ski, so when I put the boots and the skies on it was very difficult for me to walk. We started at a plane surface, so it was easier for us. He taught us how to stand up, the name of all the equipment that we had, how to take out the skies, what to do in an emergency and a lot of stuff I didn’t pay a lot of attention because I just wanted to start skiing; I regret about that because the explanation in a few hours would had helped me a lot.

After 3 hours, the instructor told us that we were ready to go and ski in the easy tracks the green ones and in some blue tracks, that were the ones after the green ones, but in that ones we should be more carefully. This is when all really started. I started to ski in the green ones, because it was the easy ones and I was not the best skier so I kept practicing. It was getting dark it was like 5, it was getting colder too I got two jackets, a pair of boots, a hat, and a pair of gloves; so I was kind of protected against cold. Then my dad said that we should go, so I asked him that if we could go to do one more lap to a track. My brother came along with me. I said to him that since it was the last lap we should go in the blue track so it would be a real race. We started we were going really fast; because we were the only ones there so the track was only for us and for nobody else. My brother started to go faster and faster, until at one point I couldn’t see him. I tried to go as fast as I can to get to him, I was so close of him and I was too fast but, I didn’t wanted to stop. Until then it happened. I saw a wave of wind coming into my way, it blocked my sight I couldn’t see a thing. I tried to stop but I couldn’t because I was going too fast; I couldn’t control the skies so I went to a black track, the hardest of all tracks. I tried to go another way but if I kept going I would go to a big hole, were I’d probably had died. So I kept going on the black track, in there it was like a really big drop were I gain more speed, until I tried to get to one side to stop, but instead my left ski crashed against a tree, and the I fell in a really big pile of snow. When I took the face out of the snow, I couldn’t move, not even a foot. My left leg hurt a lot because I crashed against the tree. I simply couldn’t do anything because I was trapped there and I had no way out. I didn’t have one glove I think I dropped when I crashed, and my left boot was a little loose so all the snow was entering to my boot. I started screaming the hardest and the loudest I could but nobody listened to me. My cheeks were getting red, I didn’t felt my hand I couldn’t even move it. I couldn’t do anything just wait and keep screaming until somebody could came and help me get out. The only thing that occurred me at that moment of cold and pain was praying, I started praying so god could help me in any way because I was desperate. Then I heard some snowmobiles getting near, shouting my name, I screamed the hardest and then they came to help me. They grabbed a shovel and they took me out of there, I had a fissure in the leg and my hand was red really red but the rest of my body was ok.

I learn that day, you have to always pay attention to what the instructor tells you, if you are not a pro you shouldn’t go so fast, and that god is always there for you when you need him. I will never want anything like this happen to you, but if it happen now you have an idea of what you can do and what does it feel, so be careful because: you never know what weather can bring to you.

A Camp I Will Never Forget

The first time I met this person I didn’t thought it will be one of my best friends and one of the most important people in my life.

Well it all started like 1 year ago my dad took us to a camp in the woods where he thought we will have fun, he was right because that is a weekend I will never forget in my life. I didn’t wanted to go at first because I had better stuff to do than going to this boring camp. My dad said that it should be fun for me and that I will met new people and stuff like that, he didn’t convince me with this words until he said if you don’t go to the camp I will take form you: your cell phone, your iPod, TV, guitar and all the parties that you have. So I didn’t really had a choice, so I decided to go to the camp.  My brothers came with me to the camp too. When we arrived the place there were tons of people, everyone different, I was happy because maybe I will do met new people. So I got out of the car and with a good feeling that it will be a great weekend I went out of the car. We entered to a big house where the manager of the camp will give us all the information about the camp. I went to a chair and there is where I saw him for the first time.  His name was Nicolas. He was a big guy taller than me, he was a little chubby, his hair was brown dark brown, and he was wearing a black shirt with a jeans and blue tennis. I sat right next to him because that was the only chair available. The manager started talking and I was barley paying attention, I was really bored. Then he said that the guy of our right would be our partner of room the whole weekend. I wanted to choose one of my friends for partner but I couldn’t do anything.

Then we went to the rooms I grabbed my stuff and entered my room. In the room there were only two beds, one was near the window and the other was right beside the bathroom. I, since I got first, picked the one near the window because I like to feel the air in the nights. I left my stuff in the bed and then I went to the bathroom. When I went out of the bathroom, my stuff was all in the floor and Nicolas was lying in the bed near the window. I was really mad because of that so I said to him that why he did that, he didn’t answer me and he put his headphones started to hear to music, and he ignored me. I asked him again why he did that, and then since he didn’t answered me, I grabbed his headphones and threw them to the floor; the headphones broke apart when I did that. He went really really mad and he pushed me really hard so I felt down, I pushed him again really hard and he felt down and the we started fighting. He was a really big guy taller than me so he started beating me, I punched him in the face and then he kicked me. We kept fighting until some of the other rooms heard us and they called the manager. When he went to our room he started to separate us so we stop fighting. I explained him all the story to him. He said that I was right so I took my bed back but I had to pay him every cent of his headphones.

After that we didn’t talk until night. I put my pajamas on, I brushed my teeth and I went to sleep. Well that’s what I tried. I was there trying to sleep but I couldn’t because Nicolas had the lights on. I asked him nicely this time if he could turn of the lights because I couldn’t sleep and I was very tired. He didn’t turn the lights on, but I was too tired to fight with him again so I had to sleep like that for at least half of the night. The other half of the night I couldn’t sleep because he was snoring son hard my ears were about to explode. In the morning he took like one hour to take a shower, so when I went into the shower I have to resist all the cold water, so I had to took he fastest shower of my life.

The next day I beg the manager to let me change my room with anyone because I couldn’t stand him anymore. He said that there were no more rooms available, that I should talk to him so we could be better room partners; and that’s what I did. When I went to the room the guy was crying a lot. He had a photo of his parents in his hands. I asked him what was wrong with him, that I could help because I didn’t want to fight with him anymore. His parents where divorcing so they took him to the camp so he didn’t saw all the fighting that they had. I grab his shoulder and his hands and then we promised each other that we will help to be good partners and good friends.  It worked out really well, and in the camp we did everything together; eat marshmallows ‘played games, made jokes and I really had a great time.

Now a days, he is one of my best friends we always try to go to the camp every year or see each other in another place. I will never forget that camp and I really thank my dad to give the opportunity to get to know a great guy like Nicolas.

"An Important Person"

One of the most important people in my life is my mom. My mom I think is the person that best know me in the whole word.  She has been there with me always since I was born since my first day in the world and I’m very happy with her and I will never change her. I will never want another mother in my life.  

I will describe my mom this way: she has black dark her with little parts of red because she paints it. Her hair is always smelling good and always bright. She is not tall she is like a really small person, she always tries to dress the nice as possible always very professional. She doesn’t hear very well I don’t know why but every time I talk to her she always ask like what did you said?, so I have to repeat everything to her twice. She is a very sociable person she has tons of friends and every day she makes more and more friends all the days.  My mom have 2 brothers ant 1 sister she is the third older in the family. She works from Monday to Friday 8: AM to 4: PM sometimes she comes home a little bit later than that. She works on supermarkets she is in charge of all the special negotiations  she negotiate what it is going to be in all the stores of the country; her specialty are candies so she always bring us bubble gum, chocolate and sweet tarts, and other kind of delicious candies.   All the days she takes my brother and me to our soccer trainings sometimes she doesn’t have time even to eat but she doesn’t care because if we are happy she is happy.

She was born 10^th of July 1965; in Guatemala City. Since she was a little girl she was a really really smart girl and an excellent student. She didn’t like to go very much to parties and that things but she liked to hang out with friends doing other kind of stuff like:  playing like games in the house, watching movies, water war and other stuff. She was a really happy person since she was a little girl and she made everyone around happy too.

Now that she was a grown person and she is the best moo in the world. I like a lot of things about her she always smells like home, she always has a smile in her face and she is almost never angry. She is a great person because every time anyone needs something or someone is in trouble she is always there for that person; she does whatever is possible to do what she can.  A very good example of that is when I was little I had a very bad sickness I went to the hospital for about two months. I was really sick and the person who was for me every single day was my mom.  She had very bad nights sleeping in the worst couches and beds but she only care about me so she slept there. I’m very glad with her to do that for me and I think I could never thank enough my mom for doing that.

She is not a perfect person she has some bad things too like: she has a lot of trouble in accepting her errors like she never had the fault of anything someone else but not her. Another thing is that sometimes she gets mad really fast for little things that are mean less. Sometimes she wants to do things her own way and she doesn’t listen to what others say.

My mom is the best mother of the world and one of the best persons in the whole world. I know she is not famous but she helps every day poor people and people of the church; she always gives food and money to all the people that need something.

I love her very much with all her errors and mistakes she has done all her life, she has good things too but I love her just the way she is and I will never want her to change and I will never want another mother in the whole world.