Stupid Teacher...

[C101Yorkie]

Sorry, it's kind of long...

My tutor goes around at the begining of each semester to get any work that my teachers would want me to do. Now, it's not really their decison on what I do and what my grades are. That's Miss Huster's (my tutor) job. She becomes the one in charge of everything I do. One teacher, my english teacher, got real rude when Miss Huster talked to her. First, she said I wasn't even sick! Then, when Miss Huster explained what is going on with me, she was just like, "Oh..." She also said that if I'm so sick how will I be able to keep up with all the work. Miss Huster told her I was ranked #1 in my class. Again, she was just like, "Oh..." So then, she says that she wants the tutor job! She wants to take it away from Miss Huster! I don't want her as my tutor. Me and my whole family have become great friends with her. So, anyway, she gave her a list of what she wants me to do. The first thing was a letter to "get to know us." Here's what it says:

Directions: Please write a letter to me about yourself. I would like this letter to go beyond the typical biographical information about where you were born, what your favorite food is...etc. Tell me some information the might be helpful in learning and understanding more about you. There is no wrong way to do this assignment. I simply want a letter from you telling me some information that reflects who you are as a person. You could tell me a personal story or simply list some information about yourself that might be interesting or reveals something about you. I am not grading you on perfect grammar; however, I would appreciate it if you would write neatly and spell correctly. The letter should be at least two pages. 15 points.

Here's my letter, it's 12 pages written out on paper.

[C101Yorkie]

Part 1:

Dear Mrs. Kobierksi,

I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Courtney Hall. I am a sixteen year old girl. I entered this world on August 12, 1992 at Hamot Hospital is Erie, Pennsylvania. I get my name, Courtney, from my great-grandmother. It was her maiden name.

I am the older of two kids. I have a fourteen year old brother, named Brandon, who is in the eighth grade at Rice Avenue Middle School. I live with my mom, dad, brother, and dog. My mom, Denise, is a stay-at-home mom. Thank goodness. I really need her all the time. My dad, Bob, is a high school French teacher at Fairview High School. My dog, Sapphire, is a three year old Yorkie. She got her name because I was going to show her in conformation, and win the sapphire necklace.

I am very close to my mom’s side of the family. I spend a lot of time with my grandma, grandpa, my mom’s sister, and my mom’s brother. My mom also has another brother, but we are not as close. On my dad’s side, we spend some time with his dad, his two sisters, and his brother. I have a few cousins on both sides. Only one on each side is older than I am.

When I was born, I had a high heart rate. My doctor found a hole in my heart, and my first trip to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh was in October of 1992. I spent the next year learning to talk and walk, what normal babies do in their first year. The only exception was that I was constantly going for doctor’s visits. This is when I had my first EKG, echo, chest x-ray, and heart cath.

When I was fifteen months old, the doctors decided that the hole was not going to close on its own, and it was time to perform surgery. On November 17, 1993, we went down to Children’s. There, they performed open-heart surgery on me. After I came out of surgery, I spent a few days in ICU. Then, I spent a few more days in a regular room. I was able to go home after that.

For the next thirteen and a half years, I had regular check-ups. I had an occasional EKG, echo, and chest x-ray done. I led a pretty normal life. I was a normal toddler growing up.

I went to school every day that I could. Occasionally, I would get sick and have to miss days, though. I loved going to school. My teachers were great, and I always had A’s on my report card. I had great friends that I loved to be with. I always did my work well and on time. I would usually go above and beyond to do the best work possible. I played basketball and softball, and even soccer one year. I loved playing softball. I was always at practice early and stayed late. My dad supported me by coaching for many years. I played for years and years. I was a great pitcher. I practiced many different batting techniques and catching the ball however it came at me.

In the fall of 2007, I started high school. I was really excited because I had always heard that high school was the best years of a person’s life. Little did I know how sick I was. High school was tough. I was always tired, but didn’t know why. My joints hurt every time I moved. I had a terrible cough that wouldn’t stop. Then, I lost my hearing. I missed so many days those first two months. I was always coming home with a fever, I couldn’t keep food or drinks down, and I was always exhausted.
On November 1, 2007, I went to my family doctor after going to him the whole month of October to figure out what was wrong with me. He sent me to an ENT, who said I needed ear tubes. I also had many other tests done that day. On November 6, my mom took me to the doctor again, and asked to please put me in the hospital, something was really wrong. I spent the next eight days in Hamot. I had tons and tons of tests done. It got to the point where they were drawing blood three times a day. Finally, my doctor decided to transfer me to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh on November 14.
By the time I got to Pittsburgh, I was really weak. I couldn’t even get out of bed. My arms were so beat up they couldn’t draw blood. They decided to put a PICC line in my arm. When I had the PICC line put in, they also did a kidney biopsy. The results showed I was in kidney failure. My blood level was 6.3. I should have been in a coma. I had to have a blood transfusion immediately.

A few days later, on the anniversary of my open-heart surgery, I was back in Children’s with a rare disease at fifteen years old. I was diagnosed with Wegener’s Granulomatosis. It is a rare disease that usually shows up in people in their 50’s or older. It was even more rare that I got it, being a kid. For the next four weeks, that I spent there, I received a lot of medication. I had a few days of strong doses of steroids. I also had plasmapherisis and hemo dialysis. I was also getting Cytoxan, a form of chemo. On December 3, I was finally allowed to go home. I had lots of different medicine that I had to take every day.

The day after Christmas, the doctor from Pittsburgh called and said we had to come down immediately. I had to have another blood transfusion. I ended up staying for the New Year. I got to go home the next day. In the middle of January, I had to have another kidney biopsy done. The results weren’t any better than the first one. I ended up staying in the hospital for a few days. I was then switched from Cytoxan to another drug, Rituxan. I had to start physical therapy for a while to get some strength back.

[C101Yorkie]

Part 2:

On February 2, the worst day so far, I had two seizures. They were caused by high blood pressure. My blood pressure got higher than 200/120. I was taken to Pittsburgh via ambulance, and taken to ICU. I had a breathing tube for a while, but it was taken out after a day. I was put on some new medicine for the seizures. It altered my attitude for a day, but then I was back to normal. The rheumatologists decided that taking me off of the Cytoxan was a bad idea that the nephrologists had. They put me back on it. One doctor, Dr. Tash, happened to be the rheumatologist on call that day. If it weren’t for him, I may not be alive today.

The doctors determined that the high blood pressure was due to the kidney failure. I had eight liters of extra fluid in me that my kidneys just couldn’t take out. Thus, I had the seizures. To solve this problem, the doctors put me back on dialysis. This time, though, I was put on peritoneal dialysis. I was scheduled for surgery to put the catheter into my stomach area. The cath is still in today. I get dialysis every night for eight hours. On February 13, I was able to do a few things that I hadn’t been able to since arriving on the second. I left ICU and went into a regular room. I used a flushing toilet. That doesn’t seem like much, but after not being strong enough to for a month, it was nice. I got to put on my own clothes instead of wearing a hospital gown, and I was able to walk more than three feet. I actually walked all around the floor. On February 21, I was able to come home again.

I then went down once a month for Cytoxan treatments. I would go down one day, get the chemo, stay overnight, and go home the next day. The Cytoxan was a twenty-four hour process. I finished getting the Cytoxan in June, and was determined in “clinical remission.” That just means my disease is under control for the time being. I could flare up at any time, though. I go back every month for check-ups now.

In the fall of 2008, I tried returning back to school. It was very difficult. I was going to bed early, around seven o’clock each night. It was hard, getting up early, having dialysis, and trying to get my homework done the night before. Getting from class to class was exhausting. My stamina still isn’t back to the way it used to be. I made it for a month, but the exhaustion and the anxiety problems that I have, and have to take medicine for and see a psychiatrist for, made it too hard for me to continue. Again, I had to stop going and get a tutor, Miss Huster, to help me with my schoolwork for the second year.

Good things have come out of this experience, though. As hard as it is to believe, it’s true. I have made many new friends. My doctors, nurses, and other members at the hospital I now consider friends. My tutor, Miss Huster, is also a good friend now. I’ve learned a lot of medical terms, as well. I also get a Make-A-Wish. My wish is to go see Cesar Millan, “The Dog Whisperer,” at his Dog Psychology Center in Los Angeles, California. I love to watch his show, and think he’s great with dogs. I will be going to see him in either early March or late April. Either way, I’m really excited to actually go.

I have a rough time ahead of me. In December or January I will have a kidney transplant. That is the earliest it can happen. I will have to stay in the hospital for a minimum of four to six weeks. One month after the transplant, if it is successful, they will take the dialysis cath out. I will always have to watch out for flares. This means my disease will become active again. It could attack the new kidney, and I’d have to have another transplant. I will also be on medicine for the rest of my life. I could get off of it, but that is very unlikely. If I did get off of them, t would only be a short time before I’d get a flare and be back on the medicine.

Despite all I’ve been through, I still try to lead a fairly normal life. I love animals. I like to read about them, learn about them, and play and pet the ones that I can, especially dogs. Dogs are my passion. A lot of what I do revolves around dogs. I like to train my dog, my family member’s dogs, and play with them. I like to read as well. I like books about animals and mysteries the best. I also like to play video games. Computer games and other game systems are fun to play. I enjoy playing with my family. I do a lot on my computer, too. I like to go online, and surf the web. One thing I like is to watch YouTube videos of animals. I also made my own website. It is chall. I also like to do my schoolwork. I like learning new things. I liked school before, but I like it in a different way now. More appreciative of it and willing to learn, even if I don’t like the subject. I like watching TV. “24” and “The Dog Whisperer” are a couple of my favorite shows. I enjoy watching some shows together as a family. I also do some horseback riding to help strengthen my body. Not only does it help me physically, but it helps me mentally. I feel strong and have to be in control while I’m on the horse. It also makes me feel good and relaxed.

Miss Huster has also helped me a lot. She’s a great teacher, and she’s bringing me out of my shell. I’m a shy girl, so it helps to be able to be comfortable with her. I feel comfortable with her and I like her a lot. I’m really glad she was my tutor last year, and agreed to tutor me as long as I need it, which will probably be until I graduate. I’m thankful to have met such a wonderful person that helps me with my work.

Sincerely,
Courtney Hall

[DvlshAngel985]

Courtney you have such an incredible story. When I clicked on the thread, I was honestly expecting something different. I'm glad the doctors have found what was making you ill and are working towards making you better.
I bet that teacher thought your tutor's job was a piece of cake and didn't take into consideration how having a familiar face help with your studies would make school one less stressful part of your life. I hope your well written letter opens her eyes. I will have you in my prayers.

[C101Yorkie]

Thank you.

She said she "needed the money, and never gets asked to do the jobs." Every teacher has the same and equal opportunity to apply for a tutoring job. Just because she just moved and needs the money, doesn't mean she can take someone else's job, especially after accusing me of faking!

[Ashley V]

HA! You told that teacher. Some teachers are just awful and think they are God's gift to the school district.

My cousin had open heart surgery too when he was 14 months old... he also had a hole in his heart and he almost died from it. He's now 23. :-)

You remind me of my BIL's story. He's pretty sick with just about every unpronounceable disease you can imagine and he can't go to school either. He's 15. You and him never cease to amaze me with your constant faith and determination.

[msjagg]

YAY Courtney, You told her!! For her to say you're FAKING...Makes me so mad......She should'nt be teaching children!! The woman's an IDIOT!! I'm so Proud of you for setting her straight and CONGRATULATIONS on continuing to be #1 in your class going through all that you have to deal with daily!! I'm so Proud of you, Your YT Friends, Jodi and Baron

[Connie]

Wow! What a great letter! That teacher should feel a little sheepish after reading it. Who does she think she is...that she can say things like that. You did good, Courtney! Bless your heart!

[QuickSilver]

That is an incredible story. I don't know how to express how I felt when I read your letter... it really moved me. I wish I could say more but I honestly can't articulate it.

You will have to tell us about meeting Cesar Milan!

[Lucia]

Wow, your letter moved me tears.....I'm disgusted that your teacher could believe that you are FAKING!!! You are so brave to have put up with so much in your life and are an inspiration, especially that you are achieving so much academically despite missing so much of school. I wish you every success and luck for the future xxx xxx xxx

[C101Yorkie]

Thank you guys. I really hope that letter makes for think about what she said!

[Nikki+2]

Courtney that is an amazing, heartfelt letter. You are one strong girl! I hope it prompts your teacher to take a good hard look at herself.

I'm a little concerned about the amount of personal, identifying information in it being on the internet. I hope I'm not being preachy but you might want to get a mod to just edit it a bit for your privacy and protection.

[C101Yorkie]

Well, it certaintly opened up her eyes. She came to my tutor this afternoon crying. She said she had just finished reading my letter and couldn't believe what I've gone through. She said I can take as much time as I need to do my work. I think she's going to leave us alone now...

Nikki: I appreciate your concern about the information. I don't really see that much that needs to be edited out, though. I think I'll just leave it as is. But thanks.

[gkathleenw]

Wow Courtney! That is an Incredible story! I had No idea. I am also in tears..... I don't even know what to say other than..... You are one Strong Young Woman!!! Your story is very inspirational.

P.S. Your website is really cool.

[GurleyGirl]

What an incredible letter/story! I wish you the very best and hope things get better for you. Hugs to you and your family!