In May of 2008 I was sitting at my desk at work, and I started to develop a strong pain on my left side. I ignored the pain, and continued to work on a project that I had to complete. After about an hour the pain started to get worse. Well I thought it was a severe stomach ache, and went to the bathroom in an attempt to alleviate the pain. I then went to the bathroom, and instead of the pain getting any better it only got worse. I had never felt this type of pain before in my life. I knew that there was something seriously wrong with me. I called one of my co-workers, and asked her to take me to the hospital. I had all the symptoms of kidney stones. I had always heard that kidney stones were very painful but I could not have ever imagined that they were this painful.

When I arrived at the hospital, I had to sit and wait for approximately three hours before the nurse would even interview me. Finally, when I went into to see the nurse, she started to ask me questions about my symptoms. She also came to the conclusion that I was suffering from a kidney stone attack. I then went into x-ray where they did a whole series of tests (cat scan) on me.

After all the tests were done I was visited by the attending Doctor in my emergency bed. My family was with me, my wife and my son. The doctor told me that he had some bad news for me. He advised that they had found a tumor on my left kidney, and that it was probably cancer, and that I would need surgery to remove my left kidney as soon as possible. After the doctor told me the news, I was still in a state of shock. My wife and son started to cry, but I held back my tears, and told them to stay strong. I was not going to quit, and I would not let this disease defeat me. I was then admitted into the hospital and moved into a regular room. That evening I could no longer urinate, and my kidney shut down. I needed surgery as soon as possible, and there was no time to think about it. Within three days i was scheduled for surgery. To be honest with you I did not think I was going to live through the surgery. I really thought that my life was over. I asked God that if I was going to die, than to take me while I was in surgery and to not let me wake up. To my amazement I woke up after surgery in recovery. The nurse called out my name and said Mr. Torres are you going to wake up. At this point I really was unsure of where I was at? I thought well maybe I am in heaven all ready, and I asked her where am I? She said you are in recovery Mr. Torres, and I said alright I guess I'll wake up.

Shortly, there after I started to feel the incredible pain of my surgery. The pain I was feeling before I went into the hospital was child's play compared to the pain I was feeling now. The pain was so unbearable that I was actually hallucinating that I had died. This pain was so intense that not even the morphine would kill the pain. The first three days were a living hell for me. I thought that maybe as each day passed the pain would start to subsidize, but it did not. They sent me home after spending three days in the hospital. I was really surprised that they sent me home so quickly. After about the fifth day the pain started to minimize slowly. Upon removing and examining my left kidney they determined that the tumor was cancerous.

I then had to see an oncologist and get examined every three months. I was fortunate that all my test came back negative, and I did not need chemotherapy. I thank God everyday for the chance that he gave me to live. My life is a testament to God, and I give him thanks and praise everyday. I believe in God, and he has kept me here on this earth for a reason. I believe that part of this is for me to tell my story of faith, so that others who believe will also be saved through God's good graces.