I never really thought I was 'different' from other kids. I never realized that I almost wasn't born. All I knew is I couldn't eat too many green olives, and I couldn't be the competitive cheerleader that I desperately wanted to be.
Throughout my childhood, I went to countless doctor appointments. I can't remember how many blood tests, ultrasounds, and urine tests I have been through. I was informed from a young age that I couldn't participate in any contact sports, and if I fell on my back, I was toast and had to be immediately rushed to the hospital. Come to find out later on in life, I was born with only one kidney.
It became a joke with my friends that when I fell over a bush at night at a friend's birthday party, I yelled "my kidney!" Or when my sister and I got into a brawl, all I had to do was play the "ow my kidney" card and she was instantly in trouble (sorry Hannah).
Some people do not understand that it is absolutely possible to live without a vital organ, and I'm proof. I may be super tiny, but that's because I'm missing 10 pounds of meat on my right side.
Whenever I first tell people about only having one kidney, their first question is always without a doubt "did you give someone your kidney?" No people! It is a rare condition, with only one in 750 people only being born with one. Fun fact, usually it's the left kidney that is missing, but for me, it's the right.
I can still do everything I aspire to do, and after being cleared by the doctor, I was finally able to live out my dream for three years of being a competitive cheerleader.