Personal Narrative: My Quarantine

White walls whispering with wild silence, quarantine. I’m 9 years old and hooked up to an IV board dripping drugs down into my system. I see my mom outside my room where she sits every day. She along with the doctors suit up to come inside. They come in like a wave to the beach, all at once leaving. Even though there are people in the room I feel extremely isolated. My mom sits and talks to me telling me that this will be over soon and that in the future this will be a funny memory. There is an odd distance that separates us, maybe it’s the suits worn to keep me safe or the amount of illness my foot has consumed. Even though there was is an obvious void created by the circumstances, a stronger bond is being formed. I remember

When the doctors barge in berating my dreams carelessly I feel even more hollow, but then I remember that my mom is still here. My mother dedicates herself to me and my sickness. She advocates for surgeries that save my foot and she stays at the hospital both day and night. I am never alone even in the most isolated part of the hospital. We both persevered and persisted through the entire process. We trust each other to make crucial decisions and discoveries. When the quarantine is lifted and after I endure seven intense surgeries I will finally understand how much my mom and I’s relationship has deepened. She took time to stay with me and even encouraged me to walk when I felt like a simple step was impossible. She pushed to have the best care and doctors possible. When the pain and threat ended we still stood strong together defeating bumps in the roads and burnt bridges.

Now that I’m older my mother still teaches me to work for the things I want and advocate for myself as she did for me. She inspires me and pushes me to succeed. Not only have we formed a deeper bond but now we have also become an unbeatable team. As I begin my journey to leave for college I recognize the strength I’ve been gifted from my mom. I understand now why she supports my independents and tests my abilities. My fragile foot was the beginning to my strong relationship with my