A Personal Narrative by Anonymous
I was skating down the ice, hustling to execute a drill at a hockey practice when suddenly everything went dark. A few minutes later the blurred outline of my coach appeared standing over me on the bench. He was asking me continuously if I was alright or to tell him what day it was, but I was unable to respond with the correct answer. All I kept repeating was, “What happened?” I do not remember to this day how it happened but I was informed by one of my teammates that as I was skating backwards during a drill, another player cut across the ice and we collided, causing me to strike my head off of the ice. It was the worst sensation in the world-sitting there helpless and unable to answer simple questions about my own life or so I thought. By some means, I was able to change out of my hockey equipment and transport my extremely heavy hockey bag to the lobby where my parents were waiting in absolute panic. Without hesitation my mom decided that she was taking me to the hospital regardless of my coach reassuring her that it was only a minor concussion.
Six hours later, I was still sitting in the emergency room of Windsor Regional Hospital waiting for medical attention. Apparently, a possible brain aneurism or blood clot in the brain isn’t a severe enough medical condition in a busy, emergency room. I gazed around the room and realized that I was not the only person present who was in a lot of pain. A man with a broken nose had been waiting for over three hours to be seen by a doctor and several children who were vomiting were simply given a bucket while they remained in the emergency room in complete agony. Finally, my name was called by the triage nurse; they were moving me into a room to see a doctor. Little did I know that once in the room, it was another hour wait before the lone doctor working the graveyard shift would be able to treat me. The doctor finally entered the room at last. He questioned my parents about how the injury occurred, checked my pupils with a flashlight and told me to go home and schedule an appointment with my family doctor next week if my parents wanted a CAT scan performed to make sure there was no damage done to my brain. It took over six weeks for me to finally receive that CAT scan. It did turn out that I was in good health but I thought to myself what if I had something wrong that night? The medical staff in Windsor was unable to assist me because they were too short staffed.
It was that lengthy night in the hospital when I realized what I wanted to do with my future. Right there and then at the age of fifteen, I yearned to make a difference in the health care system we have today by becoming a doctor. This wasn’t an unrealistic desire for me because in school I excel in science and mathematics. I would like to be a doctor who is there for the patient and not because of the paycheck at the end of the week. Also I want to be a doctor who is willing to do what ever it takes to make sure that patients receive the treatments necessary instead of trying to save the government money by reducing the amount of tests done to diagnose illnesses.
My plans to achieve this desire include striding to achieve an average in the nineties in high school, which I have been able to do thus far. I also wish to attend a well known university such as Western for science in hopes of being accepted into medical school once I have completed my initial degree. My unfortunate experience with the health care system cleared up any uncertainties I have had in choosing a career path and has led me to strive to achieve my desires.
