Bernkastel
Reaper of Miracles
To let you guys further get an idea of my created charater Celeste Crimson, I wrote a collection of chapters detailing her life, and maybe, by reading this, you guys can get an idea of what Celeste is really all about and better understand her as you read my shows, after all, Celeste is the brightest shinning star in UWWF.
This story is about a girl, a girl who overcomes unspeakable tragedies, a life threatening illness, and a multitude of other obstacles to become one of the top female freestyle fighters in the world. Celeste was born in 1975 in Sacramento, to Kenneth and Mikayla Crimson. Her father, who was born in California in 1949, was just starting his career has an architect. Her mother, who was born in Moscow, Russia in 1948, had recently started college to earn a degree in Russian communications. Mikayla had been seriously injured a few years back while fighting in a tournament in China. One of her lungs had collapsed and her throat partially closed. This was partially due to a lung condition that Mikayla was born with. She had to get reconstruction surgery on her lungs and was sidelined from the tournament. She decided to settle down and start a family of her own after finding out her twin sister had moved to the States as well as her brother. Plus her mother had died making it that much difficult. When Mikayla was young, she didn’t want kids, nor did she want to get married. She just wanted to focus on her fighting career.
She had first met her husband on a cruise through the Balkans. Kenneth had booked the trip as a way to relax after being released from a 5 year jail sentence. He had temporarily moved to Russia because he had gotten a job offer to help design a cathedral in Moscow. He and Mikayla found each other interesting, and she found herself falling for him despite herself. There was a bit of a language barrier between them, but Mikayla already spoke a little English. She had been taking classes to learn the language since she eventually wanted to move to America anyway. Kenneth and Mikayla got married in 1970, 5 years before Celeste was born. In 1978 Mikayla participated in a tournament held in Tibet called the Devil’s Gauntlet, an all masters and grandmasters tournament. It was one of the most prestigious tournaments held in the world. 200 of the best men and women of all different fighting styles came here to fight every year. Mikayla had won her division in the tournament 3 times in the past ten years and was looking to add a 4th to her resume. She recently had suffered from heath problems that were deteriorating her lungs and heart. Also added problems due to asthma caused her to surrender the Russian Women’s Jujitsu Freestyle Championship and she was sidelined for the remainder of the year. She had formed a tumor on her lungs and let it go unnoticed for months. She collapsed in the semifinals of the week long tournament and was airlifted to a hospital in Beijing. She underwent surgery to remove the tumor; then she spent the remainder of that year recovering. She later moved, with her husband, to the US to Sacramento, California. Celeste was born later the next year in July. As a youngster Celeste was into everything, she always seemed to get hurt, but always managed to get back up. She was also very quiet, especially in the years when most toddlers are co-dependant on their parents. It never really occurred to Mikayla or Kenneth that their daughter might have disease that might ultimately take away her ability to feel pain, as they thought none the wiser and they let Celeste do whatever she pleased, even enrolling her into a junior martial arts program when she was 3. Celeste used to love watching her mother fight in tournaments on black and white videos, stating that she wanted to be a fighter just like her mother.
After her brother Chris was born in 1978, Celeste and her family moved to a small private community called Evansville located about an hour and 10 minutes from Sacramento. Her mother didn’t notice anything weird about her until she was 4. Celeste was at the park with her mother and baby brother. She was on the swing set being pushed by her mother when her mother had to tend to her brother who started to cry. Celeste protested but only swung higher and higher. “Look what I can do mommy,” she yelled. She was intending to jump out of the swing at the height of her jump. “Not so high, honey,” complained her mom. Since it was a busy playground she didn’t want Celeste to hurt any of the other kids. Mikayla had finished calming down Chris and was putting him back in his stroller when she heard a child scream behind her. She turned around just in time to see another child run across Celeste’s path just before she jumped. She yelled in surprise as she half jumped out of the swing, her momentum flipping her upside down and landing her on her head. Mikayla rushed over to her daughter half expecting her to be crying out in pain, but to her surprise, Celeste just got up and smiled at her.
Upon examining her, Mikayla found Celeste’s wrists to be a little bruised but nothing serious. Upon further examination the next day she found that her wrists had swollen up and the bruise had gone a brown to a deep blue. After talking to her husband her mother found a sitter for her son and took Celeste to the emergency room. After an hour of wait the doctor had some surprising news as he stood outside Celeste’s room with her mom. “Looking at the x-rays it’s apparent that your daughter has broken her wrist.” “Excuse me?” asked Mikayla after a moment. “How can that be?” “Do you have a problem with this?” asked the doctor. “N- No” stammered Mikayla. “I just don’t see how it could work.” “Well the x-rays clearly point to a break” the doctor explained as he pointed to the photos. “Do you remember how this happened?” he asked her. “Yea she fell off a swing set in the park.” “And how long ago was this?” “That’s the problem, it was two days ago.” “Hmm, that does seem a little weird” “And she didn’t complain at all? He asked. “No” “Huh, well I going to look her over just in case” he said has he entered the small hospital room. Celeste was sitting on the bed reading a children’s book. “Celeste”, her mother got her attention. “The doctor wants to ask you a few questions, is that okay?” “Sure”, said her daughter and flashed him a smile. Mikayla looked on has the doctor asked her if she remembered what had happened and if she felt any pain. Celeste politely answered the questions and answered “No” went asked if anything was wrong by both the doctor and her mother.
Mikayla remembered all of the broken bones she endured as a fighter. From broken arms and fingers, and hands to feet, ankles, and legs to collarbones to broken ribs and even a broken neck. Every single one of the injuries hurt like hell and it was worse to recuperate and heal. It was a big deal to suffer any kind of break or sprain, especially in her line of work, but yet her daughter just sits here and treats this as Childs play. Mikayla watched as the doctor applied a red cast of Celeste’s choosing. This is insane, thought Mikayla. There’s no way that she can’t feel anything. Either that or she just tough, really tough, and she’s only 4! She thought about the first time she saw her daughter as she stared into her hazel colored eyes after the doctor laid her in her arms after she was born. I knew she was going to be different in some way or some how, but this is ridiculous. “There you go” the doctor said when he was done. “Now you have to wear this for 6 weeks before I can take it off, ok.” “Ok” Celeste responded. Mikayla asked her daughter to wait in here while she talked to the doctor again. “So is everything fine with her.” “Yes as far as I can see she is fine, but Mrs. Crimson just for the record your daughter has been the only child I have ever treated in my entire career that hasn’t in some sort of pain. She acted like she felt totally nothing and didn’t even respond even when I squeezed the break. And I don’t think it was a display of self control. Some adults can’t deal with the pain from a break.” “I agree” responded Mikayla” Celeste opened the door and asked her mother if they could go. “Almost sweetie” “I encourage you to have her see a doctor for a full physical, but to me she seems fine. “Alright Celeste, lets go.”
Over the next week Mikayla started to see more examples that just confirmed that something was wrong. After two days from getting her arm bandaged, Celeste cut her finger with a pair of scissors then, to Mikayla’s horror, she stuck her hand under the hot water faucet; both times she neither cried nor complained. The second incident left both her parents puzzled. She had gotten a pair of roller skates for her birthday. She had been bugging her father for a while to go out with her a watch her skate. Celeste’s father left to answer a phone call and told her mother to watch her. That was before Celeste decided to practice her new tactic of stopping by hitting the car. Her scream brought both of them to her aid. When she got up and started to skate again her parents were puzzled. She only skated a few feet before falling on her butt, she continued to get back up and fall until her mother went back inside and her father stayed and watched her skate some more.
That night Kenneth and Mikayla decided that Celeste must see a pediatrician. On that following Monday, Mikayla explained her daughter’s plight. The pediatrician said that Celeste obviously had something wrong but he couldn’t classify it. Otherwise she was perfectly healthy. The pediatrician forwarded Mikayla to a specialist in Salt Lake City, Utah. After the necessary preparations, Celeste left with her mother for the trip to Utah. Once there the specialist, by the name of George Winston, immediately saw concern with Celeste. “I want to keep her overnight just to make sure that we be accurate on all the tests. I promise she will be taken care of.” “Whatever you think is necessary. Because Dr. Winston I saw my daughter walk around with a broken wrist for two days and not cry or complain once.” Mikayla stated. “Now do you think that’s normal at all?” “No I don’t, that’s why my team and I want to examine your daughter, Mrs. Crimson, to find out if there is anything seriously wrong with Celeste.” So Celeste stayed the night and the doctors ran their tests while her mother stayed in a hotel not far from the clinic.
The next morning Mikayla came back to receive some somber news from the doctor. “It’s been suggested that she has a rare neuropathy disease that prevents her from feeling pain. “Jesus” said Mikayla. “So you mean she’ll be completely impervious to pain?” “Yes, that’s correct, but we have to classify her condition before we can properly treat it.” “You mean there’s no cure for this thing that she has?” It depends” “Is it fatal?” asked Mikayla sounding desperate. “Again it just depends. There are certain classifications of the disease that are not curable and there are some that are. Though only the fatal ones are treatable.” “What.” “To be blunt Mrs. Crimson, 1 in 10,000,000 people born in the world will get a form of this disease and I’ll be honest, there is a chance that your daughter could have a life threatening illness.” “Oh my god” Mikayla cried. “It’s extremely important that you and your husband and later on your daughter to know the importance of this.” “If it was fatal you did say it was treatable” “yes” “so what are the odds that Celeste has one that wasn’t fatal.” “Again I’m not sure; we’ll have to keep Celeste another night to run more tests. After that you can take her home.” So Mikayla left and came back the next morning to get Celeste. Dr. Winston told Mikayla to be aware of her daughter and the things that she could to herself and not even know it. He also said that it could be several weeks before he and his team could find anything but if she noticed anything new she should call him right away.
She filled Kenneth in about the situation with Celeste. “That’s crazy. So she could cut her arm off and not feel a thing?” “That’s right” said his wife. “That also means that we have to be twice as careful around her.” “You mean I have to be twice as careful because you’re never here.” “Yea,” laughed Kenneth. “I don’t think you should worry about this too much, I’m sure things will work themselves out. But did you ever talk to that doctor about the medical expenses of such a disease? I’m sure we’ll go broke just paying for one year’s worth.” “Don’t worry, in a few years I’ll have my degree and then I’ll be able to bring some money home as well” his wife put in. “That’s true.”
The following Thursday Celeste came into her parents room complaining about throwing up all the sudden on her floor. She said it just happened, “I didn’t feel anything then I just threw up.” Her mother said she felt extremely hot and when she took her temperature it read 104 degrees. Mikayla then gave her some aspirin and tucked her back into bed. She asked her if she was scared about possibly having to start meds for this illness. Celeste stated she liked not being able to feel any pain because it made her special; it set her apart from everyone else. Mikayla told her she needed to be careful, especially with the martial arts program she was signed up with. If she got hurt again then no one would know about it. Celeste said that she would be more careful. “That’s my girl” as Mikayla kissed her and went back to bed. Celeste’s began to get better over the weekend thanks to the antibiotics that her mother went out and bought for her. Mikayla got a call from the doctors in Utah saying that they were close to classifying Celeste’s case; they just needed her birth records.
It wasn’t until that Monday afternoon that Celeste came to her mother complaining about throwing up again. This time she didn’t give an answer when her mother asked her what was wrong. Instead she puked blood all over her mother and then passed out on the floor. Her mother rushed her to the hospital, while calling her husband to rush home and watch Chris. Celeste ended up staying at the primary children’s center at the Sacramento hospital where she lay unconscious for nearly a week before waking up. Mikayla immediately called the doctors in Utah when she got home.
When she finally awoke she found her father sitting beside her. “What’s up sport?” he asked her as he got up to give her a hug. “Hey Mika, she’s awake” Celeste’s mother came in with a smile on her face as she hugged her. “I missed you” her mother said. Then Mikayla turned back as her husband was talking to a nurse. She turned back to her daughter and started to stroke her light blonde hair. “I love you” she told her daughter as see looked into her daughters eyes. All of the sudden Mikayla’s entire grin turned into a frown then to fear as she gasped in horror, unable to speak. “Kenneth, get in here and look at this!” “What” he asked as she stood, pointing at Celeste’s face. “What’s wrong mommy?” asks Celeste, who’s confused as her mother cringes at the sight of her. “Honey y-your-your” “Holy S**t her eyes are two different colors!” yells her father. He runs into the hallway and grabs the doctor and shows Celeste to him “Look at that! No way in hell am I paying for this shit, Hell No! This has to be some malpracticed hospital conspiracy!” As he’s trying to argue with the doctor that his daughter couldn’t have passed out with one eye and wake up with two, Mikayla ran down the hall to the receptionist. She borrowed the phone and dialed the number to the clinic in Utah. “Hello, can I help you” the receptionist asked. “Yes Dr. Winston’s office please” “hold one moment, please”……. “Hello” “Dr. Winston, hi this is Mikayla Crimson. I’m calling on behalf of my daughter. “Yes I see did you see some side effects?” she explained to him the whole ordeal of Celeste passing out, being unconscious, then waking up and having “one blue eye and one brown eye.” Winston told her that heterochromia was often caused by HSAN. “I am concerned about her passing out though; I just want to triple check my research and I’ll get back with you later. In the meantime just try and keep your daughter safe and happy,” replied the doctor. “Will do” responded Mikayla.
Later late that night she got an urgent call from Dr. Winston. “It would seem that Celeste is fortunate enough not to have a life threatening form of this disease, however, without medication, it seems that your daughters nerves are slowly deteriorating. It seems that going the research again I found that that the disease is treatable, allowing your daughter to feel natural pain, and allow the natural growth of her nervous system. As long as she keeps up with her medication she at no risk. But it is important that she take her meds, because if she were to slack, then further deterioration of her nerves and that could potentially put her at risk for more diseases. I need you to bring Celeste back to the clinic so she can receive the medication we prepared for her. The medication will make her better and I promise I will explain the whole thing when you bring her. I also strongly advise that both you and your husband come with her.” “Alright, thank you so much Dr. Winston.”
Later that month, Kenneth and Mikayla brought Celeste back to the Clinic. As she received her medication via an IV, Winston filled her parents in on what was going on. “The disease that Celeste has, the doctor explained, was treatable through medication. This medication would help her to feel the pain that she can’t normally feel without it, like a normal person. She has to take this once a day he told them so you guys help her with it until she can do it herself.” “So what’s this disease called,” asked Kenneth.” It’s called HSAN for short or Hereditary Sensory Autonomic Neuropathy if you want to get technical. This form of HSAN, while not deadly can cause considerable damage to the nervous system if left unchecked. Another common form of the disease is ASAN which stands for Automatic Sensory Autonomic Neuropathy which isn’t curable but it won’t kill you.” “What about the eye thing, will it go away?” “I’m afraid not, that’s something she’s going to have to live with for the rest of her life.” “Damn well I guess someone might find her attractive in the future.” “Kenneth, that’s a terrible thing to say.” said Mikayla. “Yea but I’m just sayin. God please don’t let there be anything wrong with the boy.” Mikayla made a face, “how much is this going to cost us?” “Do you have insurance?” “Yes, why?” “Your insurance will cover it, so don’t worry about it.” “That’s good to know,” said Kenneth. The nurses returned with Celeste who looked extremely uncomfortable. “It’s natural the first time you take the meds. In her case I give you props Mikayla for catching this so quick. If it had gone on for a few more weeks then she could have developed permanent damage to her .” “Thank you so much for everything Dr.” “No problem, just have take the meds twice a day and she’ll be fine.”
Celeste struggled for the rest of the year getting the hang of taking the meds. And as she grew older there was a new obstacle she faced. Ridicule; for being different from everyone else. She was considered a freak and an outcast and no one wanted to be around her. She quickly started to grow bitter and quickly wished the people around her would stop. Her mother was not aware of the verbal beatings her daughter endured everyday and the thoughts that crossed her mind. She didn’t think it was odd that Celeste was putting her martial arts training before everything, even flunking out of several classes. Mikayla didn’t think it weird that Celeste had her first black belt at age 10 or that she was attempting to self teach herself advanced Jujitsu. Mikayla was enjoying her new career even though she knew she wouldn’t see her kids as much, as both were growing up quickly. It wasn’t until she got that first report from school saying that Celeste beat down two boys then tied them to a fence, afterwards she hung them both out for public display. Indeed what was sudden change in her family. How did her daughter grow so bitter and how did her son grow up so fast? Now he’s is out playing football, getting hurt and doing things that boys do. And now she can feel her blood boiling as she finds that her son’s room is still a mess and upon inspection of her daughter’s room she finds the secret trashcan were her daughter has been putting all her unused needles and pouring her medication down the drain. “D**n it Celeste, now there’s going to be hell to pay.”
Chapter 1
Celeste’s early life
Celeste’s early life
This story is about a girl, a girl who overcomes unspeakable tragedies, a life threatening illness, and a multitude of other obstacles to become one of the top female freestyle fighters in the world. Celeste was born in 1975 in Sacramento, to Kenneth and Mikayla Crimson. Her father, who was born in California in 1949, was just starting his career has an architect. Her mother, who was born in Moscow, Russia in 1948, had recently started college to earn a degree in Russian communications. Mikayla had been seriously injured a few years back while fighting in a tournament in China. One of her lungs had collapsed and her throat partially closed. This was partially due to a lung condition that Mikayla was born with. She had to get reconstruction surgery on her lungs and was sidelined from the tournament. She decided to settle down and start a family of her own after finding out her twin sister had moved to the States as well as her brother. Plus her mother had died making it that much difficult. When Mikayla was young, she didn’t want kids, nor did she want to get married. She just wanted to focus on her fighting career.
She had first met her husband on a cruise through the Balkans. Kenneth had booked the trip as a way to relax after being released from a 5 year jail sentence. He had temporarily moved to Russia because he had gotten a job offer to help design a cathedral in Moscow. He and Mikayla found each other interesting, and she found herself falling for him despite herself. There was a bit of a language barrier between them, but Mikayla already spoke a little English. She had been taking classes to learn the language since she eventually wanted to move to America anyway. Kenneth and Mikayla got married in 1970, 5 years before Celeste was born. In 1978 Mikayla participated in a tournament held in Tibet called the Devil’s Gauntlet, an all masters and grandmasters tournament. It was one of the most prestigious tournaments held in the world. 200 of the best men and women of all different fighting styles came here to fight every year. Mikayla had won her division in the tournament 3 times in the past ten years and was looking to add a 4th to her resume. She recently had suffered from heath problems that were deteriorating her lungs and heart. Also added problems due to asthma caused her to surrender the Russian Women’s Jujitsu Freestyle Championship and she was sidelined for the remainder of the year. She had formed a tumor on her lungs and let it go unnoticed for months. She collapsed in the semifinals of the week long tournament and was airlifted to a hospital in Beijing. She underwent surgery to remove the tumor; then she spent the remainder of that year recovering. She later moved, with her husband, to the US to Sacramento, California. Celeste was born later the next year in July. As a youngster Celeste was into everything, she always seemed to get hurt, but always managed to get back up. She was also very quiet, especially in the years when most toddlers are co-dependant on their parents. It never really occurred to Mikayla or Kenneth that their daughter might have disease that might ultimately take away her ability to feel pain, as they thought none the wiser and they let Celeste do whatever she pleased, even enrolling her into a junior martial arts program when she was 3. Celeste used to love watching her mother fight in tournaments on black and white videos, stating that she wanted to be a fighter just like her mother.
After her brother Chris was born in 1978, Celeste and her family moved to a small private community called Evansville located about an hour and 10 minutes from Sacramento. Her mother didn’t notice anything weird about her until she was 4. Celeste was at the park with her mother and baby brother. She was on the swing set being pushed by her mother when her mother had to tend to her brother who started to cry. Celeste protested but only swung higher and higher. “Look what I can do mommy,” she yelled. She was intending to jump out of the swing at the height of her jump. “Not so high, honey,” complained her mom. Since it was a busy playground she didn’t want Celeste to hurt any of the other kids. Mikayla had finished calming down Chris and was putting him back in his stroller when she heard a child scream behind her. She turned around just in time to see another child run across Celeste’s path just before she jumped. She yelled in surprise as she half jumped out of the swing, her momentum flipping her upside down and landing her on her head. Mikayla rushed over to her daughter half expecting her to be crying out in pain, but to her surprise, Celeste just got up and smiled at her.
Upon examining her, Mikayla found Celeste’s wrists to be a little bruised but nothing serious. Upon further examination the next day she found that her wrists had swollen up and the bruise had gone a brown to a deep blue. After talking to her husband her mother found a sitter for her son and took Celeste to the emergency room. After an hour of wait the doctor had some surprising news as he stood outside Celeste’s room with her mom. “Looking at the x-rays it’s apparent that your daughter has broken her wrist.” “Excuse me?” asked Mikayla after a moment. “How can that be?” “Do you have a problem with this?” asked the doctor. “N- No” stammered Mikayla. “I just don’t see how it could work.” “Well the x-rays clearly point to a break” the doctor explained as he pointed to the photos. “Do you remember how this happened?” he asked her. “Yea she fell off a swing set in the park.” “And how long ago was this?” “That’s the problem, it was two days ago.” “Hmm, that does seem a little weird” “And she didn’t complain at all? He asked. “No” “Huh, well I going to look her over just in case” he said has he entered the small hospital room. Celeste was sitting on the bed reading a children’s book. “Celeste”, her mother got her attention. “The doctor wants to ask you a few questions, is that okay?” “Sure”, said her daughter and flashed him a smile. Mikayla looked on has the doctor asked her if she remembered what had happened and if she felt any pain. Celeste politely answered the questions and answered “No” went asked if anything was wrong by both the doctor and her mother.
Mikayla remembered all of the broken bones she endured as a fighter. From broken arms and fingers, and hands to feet, ankles, and legs to collarbones to broken ribs and even a broken neck. Every single one of the injuries hurt like hell and it was worse to recuperate and heal. It was a big deal to suffer any kind of break or sprain, especially in her line of work, but yet her daughter just sits here and treats this as Childs play. Mikayla watched as the doctor applied a red cast of Celeste’s choosing. This is insane, thought Mikayla. There’s no way that she can’t feel anything. Either that or she just tough, really tough, and she’s only 4! She thought about the first time she saw her daughter as she stared into her hazel colored eyes after the doctor laid her in her arms after she was born. I knew she was going to be different in some way or some how, but this is ridiculous. “There you go” the doctor said when he was done. “Now you have to wear this for 6 weeks before I can take it off, ok.” “Ok” Celeste responded. Mikayla asked her daughter to wait in here while she talked to the doctor again. “So is everything fine with her.” “Yes as far as I can see she is fine, but Mrs. Crimson just for the record your daughter has been the only child I have ever treated in my entire career that hasn’t in some sort of pain. She acted like she felt totally nothing and didn’t even respond even when I squeezed the break. And I don’t think it was a display of self control. Some adults can’t deal with the pain from a break.” “I agree” responded Mikayla” Celeste opened the door and asked her mother if they could go. “Almost sweetie” “I encourage you to have her see a doctor for a full physical, but to me she seems fine. “Alright Celeste, lets go.”
Over the next week Mikayla started to see more examples that just confirmed that something was wrong. After two days from getting her arm bandaged, Celeste cut her finger with a pair of scissors then, to Mikayla’s horror, she stuck her hand under the hot water faucet; both times she neither cried nor complained. The second incident left both her parents puzzled. She had gotten a pair of roller skates for her birthday. She had been bugging her father for a while to go out with her a watch her skate. Celeste’s father left to answer a phone call and told her mother to watch her. That was before Celeste decided to practice her new tactic of stopping by hitting the car. Her scream brought both of them to her aid. When she got up and started to skate again her parents were puzzled. She only skated a few feet before falling on her butt, she continued to get back up and fall until her mother went back inside and her father stayed and watched her skate some more.
That night Kenneth and Mikayla decided that Celeste must see a pediatrician. On that following Monday, Mikayla explained her daughter’s plight. The pediatrician said that Celeste obviously had something wrong but he couldn’t classify it. Otherwise she was perfectly healthy. The pediatrician forwarded Mikayla to a specialist in Salt Lake City, Utah. After the necessary preparations, Celeste left with her mother for the trip to Utah. Once there the specialist, by the name of George Winston, immediately saw concern with Celeste. “I want to keep her overnight just to make sure that we be accurate on all the tests. I promise she will be taken care of.” “Whatever you think is necessary. Because Dr. Winston I saw my daughter walk around with a broken wrist for two days and not cry or complain once.” Mikayla stated. “Now do you think that’s normal at all?” “No I don’t, that’s why my team and I want to examine your daughter, Mrs. Crimson, to find out if there is anything seriously wrong with Celeste.” So Celeste stayed the night and the doctors ran their tests while her mother stayed in a hotel not far from the clinic.
The next morning Mikayla came back to receive some somber news from the doctor. “It’s been suggested that she has a rare neuropathy disease that prevents her from feeling pain. “Jesus” said Mikayla. “So you mean she’ll be completely impervious to pain?” “Yes, that’s correct, but we have to classify her condition before we can properly treat it.” “You mean there’s no cure for this thing that she has?” It depends” “Is it fatal?” asked Mikayla sounding desperate. “Again it just depends. There are certain classifications of the disease that are not curable and there are some that are. Though only the fatal ones are treatable.” “What.” “To be blunt Mrs. Crimson, 1 in 10,000,000 people born in the world will get a form of this disease and I’ll be honest, there is a chance that your daughter could have a life threatening illness.” “Oh my god” Mikayla cried. “It’s extremely important that you and your husband and later on your daughter to know the importance of this.” “If it was fatal you did say it was treatable” “yes” “so what are the odds that Celeste has one that wasn’t fatal.” “Again I’m not sure; we’ll have to keep Celeste another night to run more tests. After that you can take her home.” So Mikayla left and came back the next morning to get Celeste. Dr. Winston told Mikayla to be aware of her daughter and the things that she could to herself and not even know it. He also said that it could be several weeks before he and his team could find anything but if she noticed anything new she should call him right away.
She filled Kenneth in about the situation with Celeste. “That’s crazy. So she could cut her arm off and not feel a thing?” “That’s right” said his wife. “That also means that we have to be twice as careful around her.” “You mean I have to be twice as careful because you’re never here.” “Yea,” laughed Kenneth. “I don’t think you should worry about this too much, I’m sure things will work themselves out. But did you ever talk to that doctor about the medical expenses of such a disease? I’m sure we’ll go broke just paying for one year’s worth.” “Don’t worry, in a few years I’ll have my degree and then I’ll be able to bring some money home as well” his wife put in. “That’s true.”
The following Thursday Celeste came into her parents room complaining about throwing up all the sudden on her floor. She said it just happened, “I didn’t feel anything then I just threw up.” Her mother said she felt extremely hot and when she took her temperature it read 104 degrees. Mikayla then gave her some aspirin and tucked her back into bed. She asked her if she was scared about possibly having to start meds for this illness. Celeste stated she liked not being able to feel any pain because it made her special; it set her apart from everyone else. Mikayla told her she needed to be careful, especially with the martial arts program she was signed up with. If she got hurt again then no one would know about it. Celeste said that she would be more careful. “That’s my girl” as Mikayla kissed her and went back to bed. Celeste’s began to get better over the weekend thanks to the antibiotics that her mother went out and bought for her. Mikayla got a call from the doctors in Utah saying that they were close to classifying Celeste’s case; they just needed her birth records.
It wasn’t until that Monday afternoon that Celeste came to her mother complaining about throwing up again. This time she didn’t give an answer when her mother asked her what was wrong. Instead she puked blood all over her mother and then passed out on the floor. Her mother rushed her to the hospital, while calling her husband to rush home and watch Chris. Celeste ended up staying at the primary children’s center at the Sacramento hospital where she lay unconscious for nearly a week before waking up. Mikayla immediately called the doctors in Utah when she got home.
When she finally awoke she found her father sitting beside her. “What’s up sport?” he asked her as he got up to give her a hug. “Hey Mika, she’s awake” Celeste’s mother came in with a smile on her face as she hugged her. “I missed you” her mother said. Then Mikayla turned back as her husband was talking to a nurse. She turned back to her daughter and started to stroke her light blonde hair. “I love you” she told her daughter as see looked into her daughters eyes. All of the sudden Mikayla’s entire grin turned into a frown then to fear as she gasped in horror, unable to speak. “Kenneth, get in here and look at this!” “What” he asked as she stood, pointing at Celeste’s face. “What’s wrong mommy?” asks Celeste, who’s confused as her mother cringes at the sight of her. “Honey y-your-your” “Holy S**t her eyes are two different colors!” yells her father. He runs into the hallway and grabs the doctor and shows Celeste to him “Look at that! No way in hell am I paying for this shit, Hell No! This has to be some malpracticed hospital conspiracy!” As he’s trying to argue with the doctor that his daughter couldn’t have passed out with one eye and wake up with two, Mikayla ran down the hall to the receptionist. She borrowed the phone and dialed the number to the clinic in Utah. “Hello, can I help you” the receptionist asked. “Yes Dr. Winston’s office please” “hold one moment, please”……. “Hello” “Dr. Winston, hi this is Mikayla Crimson. I’m calling on behalf of my daughter. “Yes I see did you see some side effects?” she explained to him the whole ordeal of Celeste passing out, being unconscious, then waking up and having “one blue eye and one brown eye.” Winston told her that heterochromia was often caused by HSAN. “I am concerned about her passing out though; I just want to triple check my research and I’ll get back with you later. In the meantime just try and keep your daughter safe and happy,” replied the doctor. “Will do” responded Mikayla.
Later late that night she got an urgent call from Dr. Winston. “It would seem that Celeste is fortunate enough not to have a life threatening form of this disease, however, without medication, it seems that your daughters nerves are slowly deteriorating. It seems that going the research again I found that that the disease is treatable, allowing your daughter to feel natural pain, and allow the natural growth of her nervous system. As long as she keeps up with her medication she at no risk. But it is important that she take her meds, because if she were to slack, then further deterioration of her nerves and that could potentially put her at risk for more diseases. I need you to bring Celeste back to the clinic so she can receive the medication we prepared for her. The medication will make her better and I promise I will explain the whole thing when you bring her. I also strongly advise that both you and your husband come with her.” “Alright, thank you so much Dr. Winston.”
Later that month, Kenneth and Mikayla brought Celeste back to the Clinic. As she received her medication via an IV, Winston filled her parents in on what was going on. “The disease that Celeste has, the doctor explained, was treatable through medication. This medication would help her to feel the pain that she can’t normally feel without it, like a normal person. She has to take this once a day he told them so you guys help her with it until she can do it herself.” “So what’s this disease called,” asked Kenneth.” It’s called HSAN for short or Hereditary Sensory Autonomic Neuropathy if you want to get technical. This form of HSAN, while not deadly can cause considerable damage to the nervous system if left unchecked. Another common form of the disease is ASAN which stands for Automatic Sensory Autonomic Neuropathy which isn’t curable but it won’t kill you.” “What about the eye thing, will it go away?” “I’m afraid not, that’s something she’s going to have to live with for the rest of her life.” “Damn well I guess someone might find her attractive in the future.” “Kenneth, that’s a terrible thing to say.” said Mikayla. “Yea but I’m just sayin. God please don’t let there be anything wrong with the boy.” Mikayla made a face, “how much is this going to cost us?” “Do you have insurance?” “Yes, why?” “Your insurance will cover it, so don’t worry about it.” “That’s good to know,” said Kenneth. The nurses returned with Celeste who looked extremely uncomfortable. “It’s natural the first time you take the meds. In her case I give you props Mikayla for catching this so quick. If it had gone on for a few more weeks then she could have developed permanent damage to her .” “Thank you so much for everything Dr.” “No problem, just have take the meds twice a day and she’ll be fine.”
Celeste struggled for the rest of the year getting the hang of taking the meds. And as she grew older there was a new obstacle she faced. Ridicule; for being different from everyone else. She was considered a freak and an outcast and no one wanted to be around her. She quickly started to grow bitter and quickly wished the people around her would stop. Her mother was not aware of the verbal beatings her daughter endured everyday and the thoughts that crossed her mind. She didn’t think it was odd that Celeste was putting her martial arts training before everything, even flunking out of several classes. Mikayla didn’t think it weird that Celeste had her first black belt at age 10 or that she was attempting to self teach herself advanced Jujitsu. Mikayla was enjoying her new career even though she knew she wouldn’t see her kids as much, as both were growing up quickly. It wasn’t until she got that first report from school saying that Celeste beat down two boys then tied them to a fence, afterwards she hung them both out for public display. Indeed what was sudden change in her family. How did her daughter grow so bitter and how did her son grow up so fast? Now he’s is out playing football, getting hurt and doing things that boys do. And now she can feel her blood boiling as she finds that her son’s room is still a mess and upon inspection of her daughter’s room she finds the secret trashcan were her daughter has been putting all her unused needles and pouring her medication down the drain. “D**n it Celeste, now there’s going to be hell to pay.”
end chapter one
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