As I awaken for the fifth time this night, I realize that something is different. Something is wrong. This isn’t the normal pain I have been feeling for the past few months.
It’s not just a nagging discomfort. I close my eyes and try to make it go away. I can usually ignore the pain.

I’m awake again. I must have been able to ignore the pain for a little bit, but now it hurts even more. It feels like someone stabbed me in the abdomen. I can’t take this anymore. I make my way to my mom’s room to ask her to call the doctor. I feel like I can barely function. It has never been so hard to walk. Why does it hurt so badly?

For months I have been sick. Every morning I spend 15 minutes in the bathroom vomiting. It is probably one of the least pleasant ways to start the day. The different medications the doctors have prescribed me have yet to help. Usually the side-effects are unpleasant, too. During this time, I have had no choice but to just suck it up and go on with my life like everything is okay. I can’t let whatever is wrong with me affect my goals. Although the tests the doctors have run on me have proven to be inconclusive, my biggest fear is stomach cancer. I’ve been fighting for so long; I just want to be healthy again.

My mom tries to contact our physician. It must be a busy day because we are not getting through to him. After several phone calls[,] a nurse tells us to just go to a hospital. The pain is strong and steady. I barely make it to the car.

We finally get to the hospital. After waiting in agony for many hours, I finally get to see a doctor. She applies pressure to various places on my abdomen to locate the source of my pain. One spot really sets the pain off. As she presses the area, I grab her arm and nearly break it, not even knowing what I am doing. A surgeon is sent down to see me. He tells me that I have appendicitis and need to go to the O.R. immediately. I have a feeling of slight relief knowing that soon my pain will go away. They tell me to count back from ten. Ten… Nine… Everything goes black.

[This is great. You did an especially wonderful job with your remixing]