I was about 10 years old when I laid in bed one evening. A few minutes later, I wanted to go to the toilet but I couldn’t. My body just wouldn’t move. Shocked and completely overwhelmed by the situation, I screamed for my father and cried in pain. He came and drove me straight to the emergency room. The doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong so they sent us home despite the intense pain I was in. They simply sent us home. I no longer understood the world. The pain was excruciating and I was in shock because I could no longer control my body. The mere thought of no longer being able to walk took my breath away. Never before have I felt more fear than at that very moment. I felt that it was irresponsible and negligent of the doctors to send me back home without a thorough check-up, even if it was in the middle of the night. It felt like my pain was not being taken seriously. Like I was faking it. The whole situation completely overwhelmed me and I hated being powerless. Today I believe that it was exactly in that moment that I subconsciously decided never again to be controlled by anyone or anything else ever again. What tore me apart the most was seeing my father so sad and angry – he would have loved to take my pain away but he simply couldn’t. We were both exhausted by the whole situation and all the big feelings. Thankfully, I fell asleep in the car on the way back home. However, my father was persistent and drove me to our family doctor the following morning. Quickly came the frightening diagnosis: Tuberculosis of the spine. I was immediately admitted to the hospital because if I had stayed one more day without treatment, I would have been paraplegic. My spine was about to fracture and my lungs were full of bacteria that were spreading throughout my body. [...] Read more on my Website | mayadaniel.com