Member-only story
After My Appendix Ruptured, My Body May Have Healed; But My Mind Never Did
Being told you are fine when you actually aren’t
A few months ago, I remember reading an opinion piece from Alice Tapper — the daughter of CNN host Jake Tapper — about her near-death experience with an entirely preventable medical problem. It sounded remarkably similar to my own experience. Alice bravely shared her terrifying story to raise awareness about the misdiagnosis of appendicitis in children.
A study published by Open Medicine in 2016 determined that acute appendicitis is “often misdiagnosed.” While the physical impacts of misdiagnosis may be obvious, the trauma from this experience has stayed with me throughout my life. Already dealing with significant anxiety, my experience with my ruptured appendix would only come to exacerbate the mental health struggles that I was combating.
This is my story.
From bliss to nightmare
In January of 2009, I was twelve years old and in sixth grade. I was a fan of Hannah Montana and was convinced that I was going to be an actor. My parents and grandparents supported me and even hired a talent agent to help me market myself and explore opportunities in the field. Just that previous winter, I got to be an extra in the movie…
