How I Survive by Yessenia Gutierrez

 Maggie Jones CC


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How I Survive

   “I don't think I can do this anymore. I give up.” I told myself last September when I entered the hospital. I was there for three months. I am a fighter, a warrior. I have been since the day I opened my eyes to this world. I was born with poly-cystic kidney disease. I had my first transplant at age 9. I was on dialysis for eleven years before having my second kidney transplant at age 23. I also had a liver transplant. I had liver failure in twenty-sixteen caused by the cysts on my native kidneys. I've been through so much pain in my life that pain has become easy for me to bear. However, it is not something I want to experience every day. Pain hurts but it can also heal. Confusing, right? Pain is necessary for our growth and development. We became stronger, bolder, and more capable individuals because of all the pain and suffering. I was lost. I was depressed. I felt empty. I felt hopeless. I thought I wasn't going to make it out alive the hospital. I cried every night tears of pain and fear. I was afraid of what was happening to me. I was afraid of having to go through the same thing every day. The needles hurt. The medications cause negative side effects. I would spend days vomiting. I would spend days with a migraine. I was going through a lot and it seemed like it wasn't getting any better. But then, I started to think. I thought, “What is God trying to show me? What is he trying to teach me?” Patience and understanding. It is very important to be patient and remain patient when facing difficulties, because without patience one will easily give up. 

   Understanding is essential. We must understand that life will not always be good and things will not always go well for us, but this only happens so that we learn more from ourselves and appreciate the little things. So that we can learn to be more cautious and improve our thinking. We must be understanding and understand that sometimes life treats us one way only for us to learn. It is thanks to our problems that we become better people who can endure anything and continue to fight for everything. Being in the hospital for so long and having this disease all my life made me sad. It made me think that maybe I have never been truly happy in my life. I've spent twenty-eight years in and out of the hospital. I have had over four surgeries in my life and have had every possible treatment you can think of. I know you are probably wondering how do I do it? How do I not get angry with God? How do I keep going despite all the pain and suffering I go through day after day? I believe in myself and I strongly believe that things will get better. It may take some time, but in the end, we see better results. No matter what difficulties you are going through, always remember that there is no rainbow without a little rain. And things will always work out. But we must stay strong. 

   We must remain faithful. Faith is the last thing we have when all else has failed. I think what keeps us going, even when we feel like it's the end, even when we want to give up, is the fact that life is only one. Life is so short. Life can end in the blink of an eye. If we love life and love to live, we will hold on to the pain and endure it. Because we can feel pain and suffer, but if it means we can have life and wake up to another beautiful day, then it's all worth it. Pain and suffering are the teachers and we are their students. Pain teaches us to be stronger, and not to be afraid. Suffering makes us be more grateful, and appreciate more. Being more grateful for having what we have and enjoying every minute of life. When you think about it, you realize how fragile life is. The amount of time we may have here is not guaranteed. Which is why we shouldn't take anything for granted. We must learn to live with the pain and do everything we can to lessen it. Whatever life gives us, we must take it and do what we can with it. We can learn or teach others. This is how everything works out. 

   We will be happy when we can use what we have been given to help others. We all have a purpose and life is about using that purpose to do good for others.



My name is Yessenia Gutierrez. I am 28 from Miami, FL. I am an aspiring writer. I write poetry, short stories, screenplays, and quotes. Writing is my passion; it is my life. I write to teach, learn, and to give people something to talk about. I write to escape from all of the things that disturb me. I have won many writing contests. I have a poetry book published on Amazon. I am a high school graduate. I’m currently in college for creative writing.

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