Rudy K., Oakwood High School
I'm a Rose that Grew from Concrete
“He will never be like the other kids, he will never be able to climb trees or play on the playground or compete in sports.” This is what the doctors told my mother on August 11, 2011 after I was born with “something" covering my entire left arm. I have survived 48 surgeries since then.
My arm was covered in something that was brown, bumpy, and hairy from my shoulder to my wrist. The doctors did not know what was wrong with me. They got out a thick, dusty dermatology book. They discovered that it was a giant congenital melanocytic nevus. This was something that would completely alter the course of my life. My first surgery was when I was two months old.
It was October 2018. I was having a specific and risky surgery that we had attempted for the last 3 years. They placed bubbles that went under my skin to grow more skin; that skin would be used to replace the old skin that was failing. This surgery had blown up in our faces each year we tried. This year would be no different. It had failed severely by the bubbles exploding prematurely under my skin. I was rushed to the hospital; I nearly lost my arm. I needed multiple blood transfusions and was confined to a body cast. I had surgery twice weekly for 2 months. During this time I was a zombie. I never saw my friends. I couldn’t do sports. When I got out of the hospital, I had 4 years of physical therapy ahead of me just to be at where all the other kids were.
During this time, never did I think that I would learn anything from it. I never saw how strong I was or how I persevered when I had no choice but to do otherwise. I never knew what was going on but I trusted my surgeon and knew I needed to keep moving forward in a positive manner. That is perseverance. That is something that nobody can ever take away from me.
Going through my surgeries, I always told myself one thing. “When I am older, I’m going to be a surgeon for kids.” I am going to persevere through the 12 years of medical school and residency because I never want the kids to go through what I did alone. I want to save children''s lives. That is what would make me happy, more than a fancy car or a mansion. I want to make them feel comforted by having a surgeon that knows a thing or two about what it's like to be in their shoes.
Perseverance isn’t something that is taught. It is something you earn. I earned mine. I used to say I survived 48 surgeries but now, I am thriving. I am a “normal” kid with awesome scars. I never thought I would get a chance to live like everyone else; now, I live life everyday to its fullest.
