8/12/2019 Devon Volkel author of A Witch's Aura

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My name is Devon Volkel. I am a mother. I am a writer. I am a cancer survivor. And I

have a story to tell.

When I was pregnant with my son in 2008 I noticed that he didn!t move around a lot. I

didn!t have good health insurance and so I was going to a clinic with "8 di##erent doctors.

It was very impersonal #or a very personal e$perience. When I was 28 weeks aninsensitive doctor poked his head in said %Devon has anyone ever told you your son

might &e &reech'% and le#t the room. I panicked. %What does that even mean'% I asked

mysel#. I #reaked out. I called everyone I knew to calm my nerves. %It!s okay Devon theycan try and turn him and i# they can!t you!ll (ust have a c)section.% It was the general

consensus a&out it. *o I let it go and re#used to see that doctor again. At +8 weeks he was

the only one availa&le. ,e apologi-ed and asked i# I had ever #ound out. I returned with a

%o.% *ure enough /auge was &reech so we set up a version which is a manual attemptat turning him in the wom&. When I went in #or my version they #ound out his arms and

legs were out like a #rog. It was too dangerous to do it. I had to try to get him to turn

mysel# over the weekend. I &egan to have contractions the ne$t day and went in thinking

I!d (ust &e sent home. hey scheduled the c)section #or + p.m. that day. As I was lying onthe operating ta&le I looked to my hus&and who had a tear in his eye. he doctors asked

i# Dusty))my hus&and))would like to watch his son &eing &orn. ,e stood and watched/auge come into the world. 1ut something was wrong. here were no cries at #irst.

*ilence. My heart&eat returned to normal when I hear his sweet cry. hey wrapped him

up put him to my lips to let me kiss his little head and took him to the I3. %,e!shaving a hard time &reathing Devon. We!re gonna take him somewhere to help him

&reathe.% An hour later there was still no word. o &a&y at my side no people coming in

with smiles and &alloons no #un statistics. 4nly ominous glances and sorrow)#illed

smiles. 5inally my nurse decided to wheel me to the I3. We entered I saw an arrayo# doctors and nurses crowded around where my &a&y was and then she wheeled me out.

I didn!t get to see him until he was three hours old. ,ooked up to a plethora o# machineswith a very swollen head. o one knew what was wrong. ,is le#t leg was purple. heydecided they must have &roke his #emur when pulling him out and put him on a #etnel

drip wrapped the &ottom hal# o# his little &ody in a cast and still had no words #or me on

what was wrong with him. Days later there was still no change. I got to hold him #or the#irst time on the third day. 4n the #i#th day when everyone was at work the

neonatologist came to my room to tell me that she #eared /auge would not make it o##

the ventilator he wasn!t acting like a normal &a&y. 6eep in mind he was currently

receiving a narcotic #or pain)what &a&y wouldn!t act normal' A#ter I cried harder than Iever did I let her tell my #amily what she had (ust told me. hen when they were getting

ready to go say good&ye to him I said %4777 ,e is not going to die.% his #ight arose in

me that I had never #elt in my li#e. A drive that said he would make it &ecause I couldn!tlive without him. wo days later he was accidentally e$tu&ated while they were lying

him on my chest. ,e was a&le to &reath alright without the tu&es. When they took him o##

o# the #etnel drip he started acting like a normal &a&y. /o #igure. /auge still had to spenda month in the I3 and he came home on o$ygen &ut he came home. ,e was

diagnosed with ongenital Myopathy and cannot walk &ut he is the most ama-ingly

&right little &oy I have ever met.

8/12/2019 Devon Volkel author of A Witch's Aura

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A year or so later I had an idea #or a story come to me. I sat down and a series worth o#

novels #ell out o# me. I thought it was an ama-ing story and looked to #ind an agent to

help me pu&lish it. I #ound one right away and she &ecame one o# the &est things that hasever happened to me. I will continue more a&out the story later.

wo years later my hus&and and I had (ust &een married in *eptem&er o# 20"". We had&een trying to get pregnant and were over(oyed &y the news that we were. I was looking

to get &etter care #or this pregnancy and so I went to a di##erent doctor. ,e wanted me to

get some additional &lood work done &ut said I had until ovem&er 22nd. his wasovem&er th. I had Dusty watching my kiddos))I had &ecome a day)care lady in the

interim))and so I decided to (ust go that day. he ne$t day my doctor called me and told

me my &lood counts were dangerously low to take my hus&and alone to this doctor and

that was all he said. Dusty and I went the ne$t day and the word %ancer% was all overthe &uilding. he doctor came in asked me some 9uestions and told me that I had

:eukemia and had to go to Denver #or a month to receive e$tensive chemotherapy. ,e

in#ormed me that my platelets were down to 8000 a normal persons is anywhere

&etween ";0000)" o# my &one marrow. 4n ""?""?"" we gave my

guardian angel &ack to the stars. he cancer went right into remission I didn!t lose myhair at #irst &ut had shaved it o## anyway to have some sort o# control over an

uncontrolla&le situation. he day I #ound out I had cancer I said to it that I was going to

kick its ass and make it my &itch. I was determined to live &ecause I was not done with

the world yet. I snuck out o# my room walked the grounds o# the hospital and sneakedcigarettes. I re#used to &e a cancer patient. It was a tiny part o# who I was. I kept in touch

with my agent and made the many many many changes to my novel that she re9uested.

o this day I am still in treatment almost done in March o# 20";. I eventually lost myhair the summer o# !"2 &ut I was a pretty &ald chick. I do tear up when I think o# my

&a&y I wanted her so &ad &ut I know she was my guardian angel and she will return to

me again one day. %An angel came to my side and stayed long enough to save me.% )@imi,endri$.

All along we said that 20"+ was going to &e a &etter year. Well three days into it my

daddy went into cardiac arrest and almost died. ,e pulled through &ut gave us 9uite thescare. hen in 5e&ruary I started noticing /auge doing weird things. ,e &egan wetting

the &ed all the time so much that we had to go &ack to pull)ups at night. ,e was very

skinny and always thirsty. When I looked up the symptoms I #ound out he may &edia&etic. I had my #riend come over to test his &lood. ,e was at +8. ormal is 0)"20. I

rushed him the BC where they admitted him and &egan treating him #or dia&etes. ,e was

then diagnosed with type one the worst kind. he hardest part is sta&&ing him withneedles telling him it!s to help him looking into his &eauti#ul #ive year old eyes when he

tells me %Mommy I don!t want to have dia&etes anymore% and not having the heart to

tell him it!ll never go away. I# I could take it #rom him I would. I would endure it all.

Why my son' Why the one who already had a horrendous start into this world' I

8/12/2019 Devon Volkel author of A Witch's Aura

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