Mononucleosis, often called “Mono,” is a common illness that can leave someone with weeks or months of being fatigued.  In the spring of my freshman year, the doctor diagnosed me with Mono, which I had for around two months.

My JV basketball season came to an end, but the varsity had just begun the tournament.  Every day I helped the varsity team practice to strive to make them better.  Unfortunately, one day I woke up sick, and coach didn’t want me to get any else sick; so he sent me home.

I told myself, ‘You’re just going to be sick for a couple days.  Just a couple of days.’

A couple of days passed, and I still felt fatigued and miserable.  One week flew by, and my mom drove me to the doctor.  Early in the morning when the yellow sun came up, my mom scheduled the appointment.  I traveled to Urgent Care, and the doctor ran multiple blood tests.  After forty-five minutes, the doctor notified my mom that I should be taken to the emergency room of our regional hospital. 

Once I arrived there, the doctors instantly hooked me up to an IV.  At the hospital, they performed even more tests to figure out my diagnosis.  Three hours after being at our regional hospital’s emergency room, they admitted me to Toledo’s Children Hospital. 

The car ride from Defiance to Toledo felt like a century.  I had to ride in the car with the agonizing IV still in my arm.  Because of the IV, it felt like I broke my arm.  Until they established what was wrong with me, the nurses at Toledo put me in their emergency room.  Other patients constantly walked in and out as my mom and I waited for six hours in the ER.  During that time, the doctors forbade me to eat anything because they still had blood and urine tests running.  I started to feel anxious because of the amount of tests the doctors ran.  My mom became irritated because of how long it took the doctors to figure my diagnosis.

Finally, the doctors suggested, “Jacob will have to stay overnight.” 

When they told me the news that I had to stay overnight, my mom panicked.  “What is wrong with my son?” asked my mom.  “Will he be okay?” 

By the time we arrived to our petrifying room, the sun had set.  Once we settled in our frosty room, the doctor stopped in and explained, “We ran multiple tests, and they all pointed towards Jacob having Mono.  I will follow up with you in the morning and let you know when you can drive home.”

“Can Jacob have something to eat because he hasn’t eaten all day?” my mom asked.

 
“Yes, I will have a nurse bring a menu in.”

When I woke up in the morning, I looked outside and thought I was in Alaska.  A winter weather advisory had been issued.  We left the hospital early to make the long jerky drive home.  Drifting, white snow covered the roads.  The hissing wind almost blew the paint off the car.  Many large semi-trucks stopped and lined up on the side of the pale road.

Once I returned home, my mom built a bed on the living room floor for me.  That is where I slept and rested for the rest of the week.  Every other day, I slowly started to go back to school.  I had too much schoolwork to catch up on.  It felt great to see my friends; in fact, many of them asked how I was feeling. 

The time I had Mononucleosis is a time that I’ll never forget.  I felt bored, sick and terrified at different moments my sickness.  The endless hours in the hospital and the weeks of feeling useless made it the worst time of my life.