The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXXIII

ILYAS HENSHAW
RUHEENA RAZVI, TEACHER
Homeschool, Mansfield, MA
The first time I knew something was wrong was when I threw up after a
milkshake. Nothing seemed unusual at the time, until a few days later, I threw
up again after eating some mac and cheese. I started to have a weird feeling
in my chest, like a dumbbell was resting on me. And I was very hungry.
My stomach felt as empty as the toilet paper store shelves during COVID.
My mom decided to take me to the doctor.
A few months later, we ended up in Dr. I’s office at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.
Dr. I is a gastroenterologist, which means she specializes in the digestive
system. She asked me a bunch of questions, which I don’t think I answered
very well, and then mentioned something to my mom called an endoscopy.
She explained that she would put a small camera down my throat to see inside
my esophagus because she thought I might have reflux. I didn’t know what any
of those words meant, and I could feel the fear coming up like the reflux I had
recently experienced.
The endoscopy was scheduled for May 2022. The day of the procedure, I was
very scared. I didn’t know what was going to happen. I only knew that I was
going to have anesthesia and was going to have a camera shoved down my
throat. We arrived at Mass General Hospital early in the morning, and I was
even more worried because the endoscopy was about to happen. I changed into
a gown, had an IV put into my arm, and waited. Even though I felt as nervous
as a student before a big test, I tried to be brave. Soon, they rolled me into the
procedure room. I was still scared, but my mom held my hand, and one of the
nurses told me jokes. I felt better, and then the warmth of the anesthesia ran
through my veins, and I was asleep. In what felt like a short time, I was awake,
and the procedure was over.
“THIS WHOLE
EXPERIENCE MADE
ME REALIZE THAT
I AM BRAVER THAN
I THOUGHT.”
Since I couldn’t walk that well because of the effects of the anesthesia, my
mom wheeled me out of the hospital in a wheelchair. Then, four months later,
I went to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for my barium swallow. After the barium
swallow, Dr. I referred us to a pediatric cardiologist because they had found an
artery from my heart going the wrong way. He ordered a CT scan of my
heart, and then we met with him. I was feeling overwhelmed. There was so
much stuff happening. It was like when I visited New York City and felt
engulfed by people. Thankfully, Dr. B wasn’t concerned and said he would
follow up with us if necessary. Ever since then, I haven’t had any symptoms.
This whole experience made me realize that I am braver than I thought.
The first thing that I saw when I woke up was my mom. I felt drowsy and
couldn’t really make sense of what was going on around me. One thing I do
remember is the delicious watermelon popsicle the nurse gave me. I was still in
my drowsy state when Dr. I came to give the results to my mom. She told my
mom that my esophagus was inflamed, possibly because of allergies, but we
should get a barium swallow to fully rule out the possibility of reflux. The
barium swallow was an x-ray test where I would have to swallow a chalk-like
liquid while they took an x-ray of my esophagus. Dr. I assured me it would be
easy, but I wasn’t so sure.
THE COURAGE OF CHILDREN: BOSTON AND BEYOND
VOLUME XXXIII
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