Ninth Grade

A memory.

During the year I attended 9th grade, I was in unstoppable agony. And every day it got worse. As a present for graduating 8th grade, I received food poisoning during a graduation outing. The gift shredded my digestive system and left it irrevocably damaged. At first I was only a little sick, but as time drew on the pain intensified. By the end of my 9th grade year, I was in so much pain that I had to maintain consciousness through sheer will power. I went to so many doctors for so many years...

The tests I endured ranged from uncomfortable, to disgusting, to torturous. During one particularly bad test, I came closer to passing out than I can describe. The pain was exquisite. My entire body went numb and stars filled my vision. I was forced to stand up, making wakefulness nearly impossible. The entire test I am essentially naked, and my father is nearly crying as he is forced to watch me writhe and moan in torment. I have no idea how long the test actually lasted, but I do know the pain did not end with the conclusion of the test. For at least an hour afterward my insides were on fire. Even so, I put on my clothes and slowly walked out of the hospital and to the family car.

The results of the test came back negative. Knowing that I endured the terribleness of the test for no diagnosis made the situation that much worse. In science you are taught that a false result is still useful data. I understood that even back then. Still... the pain endured continues to haunt me to this day. I cannot bring myself to say it helped.

Ninth grade... Most teenagers in that grade are trying to shape their personality and become their own people. Most teenagers are trying to fit in, have fun, and get through their studies. I was trying to survive being tortured.

Sadly, things just got worse as the years past.