My Recent Visit to the Hood Away from the Hood

I had an appointment in Baltimore this morning so my dad and I stayed with a friend of his last night. His friend has three children: 1 baby girl and 2 little boys. Seeing the three of them reminded me of how much I love kids. I love that at such a young age they already have their own personalities, not to mention that they're super cute. They're full of energy and very entertaining to watch. I felt awkward, but that's how I usually am around kids. I was happy to see them, but also sad too. The three of them reminded me that I'll never be able to have kids, but that's another topic altogether. 

Before my appointment, I had to get blood drawn. Call me crazy, but I really like getting my blood drawn. I'm used to the way it feels. When I was "living" in the hospital, it bothered me sometimes because I was sick of constantly being poked. I'm glad I don't get stuck every single day anymore, but it kind of feels nice to be reminded of the pain that I once felt. I know that it sounds kind of twisted, but I am who I am. And who I am just happens to like needles. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

My appointment went pretty well, extremely well actually. I saw Dr. Scheel (my cardiologist aka The Boss), Peggy (one of the nurse practitioners who works with my cardiologist; she's amazing), Dawn (the social worker of the team; she's great), Katie (one of the nurses I had on the 9th floor; she's so sweet), and a few other people that my dad and I know. It was such a great feeling to see Peggy. I was so happy to see her that I almost cried; it felt so good to hug her. Seeing Dawn was great too. She always makes me laugh with her stories and the things that she says. I was so surprised that I ran into Katie because I wasn't expecting to. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get to go up to see the new and improved PICU since it was my first time in the new building and I really wanted to see who was working today, but I'll see the PICU with Peggy next time, I hope. The best thing about my appointment was hearing that I'm free of taking three medications now. Staying healthy pays off kiddos! 

Anyway, the new building, the new Children's Center, is huge! It's unfamiliar to me because today was the first time I've ever been in the building. The building is absolutely gorgeous on the inside. Everything is so spaced out so it definitely gives a good workout.  The furniture is so vibrant and colourful, the walls are decorated with paintings with lots of colours here and there, and even a few of the elevators are coloured! It was really pretty. Next time that I'm there, I'll take a picture of the ginormous red loop-de-loop thing, it was so cool! Even though it looks much nicer and more appropriate now, I don't ever want to be an in-patient ever again. I hope that the only two reasons I go there are for appointments and biopsies.

Side Note:
-The Hood = Brooklyn
-The Hood away from the Hood = Baltimore
-I am not even joking...

Brooklyn, NY

I miss it. A lot. I haven't been there in a while. I can't even remember the last time I was there. I usually go when I'm on breaks. It's summer now. I'm 99% sure that I won't be going this summer. I understand the reasons why I won't be able to go, but that doesn't mean that I accept them. Part of me grew up there and it would be a shame if I couldn't go back there while I'm still young.

Why do I love Brooklyn, New York so much? I have a few reasons for that. I have family living there, that's my major reason. It's strange to say but I like the way it feels, smells, and looks. Okay, maybe not the smell since I can't recall that. I can distinctly recall the smell of food cooking, does that count? 

I've always felt free in Brooklyn. I've never understood why though. My cousins and I always try to go to the park whenever I visit. It's nothing like the park near my house, it's bigger and has more playing equipment, but doesn't hold as many memories. One of my favorite things to do when I visit is go walking around outside late at night. Of course, I could never go walking by myself. There's way too many sketchy, creepy people wandering around at night. I have thought about it before and if I'm crazy enough I will do it someday. Someday, I'll walk those streets all by myself...and then with my fortune probably get jumped.

Whenever I visit Brooklyn, I almost always reach there late at night. I purposefully wake up if I happen to be sleeping or force myself to stay awake to see the lights. The brightness of the city at night still mesmerizes me. The sight of the tall buildings tells me that I'm home. Brooklyn is home away from home. I love it there. 

I think it's been about 10 years or so since I first went there. But it's been months since I've been. I want to go back soon. So many complications have come up making it harder and harder to go. But I want to go back. I want to breathe in that polluted air. I want to see my family. I want to stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning. I want to talk and play. I want to go to the library. I want to be free again.