A paper a wrote for English class!

So I wrote a paper for English class titled, The Crash Of Summer 2009. The assignment was to write a autobiographical narrative. So here it is!

It was August 14th,2009, and I had a ATV race coming up on August 29th. We had planned a trip to my family's ranch down south for the weekend. I couldn't wait to get on my ATV and start riding, and get ready for the race coming up. When we finally arrived, I quickly unpacked everything, and I got my bike ready and went off to ride. It was a pretty nice day, it was hot but there was nice breeze. I started driving down the main road, a long, flat, dirt road, I was having some trouble with my bike but nothing major, just needed a new spark plug.
 I was having a great time just riding freely through the ranch, with the wind blowing in my face. It was about 5 minutes into my ride, and before I new it I had crashed. I was taken to the nearest hospital, which was an hour and a half away in Laredo, Texas. The ride there was horrible, we had to travel down dirt roads for a while, and the bumps were killing me. I arrived to the emergency room, and they took me in right away, and began taking X-rays.
Three days later I returned to San Antonio, and saw my Orthopedic doctor. He saw two breaks in my leg that the ER had not acknowledged. He had mentioned that he thought we had a bigger problem on our hands but he just changed subject, so I didn't think anything of it.
 Over a month goes by and things had not gotten any better, things had gotten worse. My doctor than decided a MRI was needed, I asked "Do you think there are some torn ligaments?" His reply was "That would be the least of my worries" I was confused what does that mean?  We finally had received the call saying the MRI was in and to come by his office. I was nervous, as I went in, thinking whats wrong. He said the MRI did come back with new injuries, so he said lets put on another hard cast and see how things go.
 I had done everything the doctor told me too, so why were things getting worse? My orthopedic then decided I needed to be taken out of school and placed on Hospital/Homebound, because I was missing so much. He than ordered a bone scan to be done immediately. We had it done and than went immediately back into the doctor to have the results reviewed. He came in shaking his head, and said the results were shocking. Not only was my whole entire leg covered in what they call "hot spots" but it was so incredibly bright that it was "like a candle lit in front of you." So what does this mean? I was still confused, and scared to hear what he was going to tell me. He explained that I had Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy also known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. A rare neurological disorder.
So what is this? According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), RSD is "a chronic pain condition that is believed to be the result of dysfunction in the central or peripheral nervous systems." It can cause many different symptoms but the most common are, extreme pain, sensitivity to touch, swelling, and skin changes.
I began treatment right away, but nothing was helping, I was then sent to Seattle Children's Hospital, one of the only 3 hospitals in the US that are qualified to treat this disease. While I was there I under went a pain program for children with RSD. They were able to get me walking, and I was able to wear a shoe for the first time in 8 months. Although this did not take the pain away it still helped some. It did not take long though for the RSD to get worse again, and eventually spread all over my body. We than took immediate action and sent me to Dallas Children's Hospital, where they had a new program that was like Seattle. I was there for 6 weeks and got worse day by day. I started passing out, having trouble breathing, and getting sick, because of the pain. I was sent home worse than when I had arrived with no clue what to do next.
 I have tried hundreds of medications, nerve blocks, TENS unit, hydrotherapy, and of course intensive PT/OT, also known as torture. Nothing has even helped slightly. I now use a wheelchair to get around, because the pain is too bad, and I am too weak. There is still one thing I have yet to try, it is something saved as a last resort due to its risks. Its called Ketamine and they give it in high doses over the course of a week in the hospital, and it is said to help, because with this they are able to reset your nervous system.
You would think after all of this I would be really depressed, and I would hate life all together, but this has actually made me have a positive outlook on life. I have learned through this to take nothing for granted, and appreciate everything I have. I have also learned how supportive, loving, and caring my family and friends are, through this hard time. This disease has slowed me down a lot, which has made me see a lot of things I would have missed without it. I no longer see life as a whole, I see it as a ladder, or a staircase. Where every step is another part of my life, a different obstacle, I have to overcome.