Mom had always drummed2 it into me never to take drugs. She warned me of horror stories and of the effects drugs could have. I listened to her.
But two weeks after my 18th birthday I put her words to the back of my mind. I met some new friends and we went out to a nightclub.
“Look,” said one, showing me a white tablet. “You want one?”
At first I didn't know what it was, but I checked it out more closely. I realized it was an Ecstasy3 tablet.
“No,” I said, automatically4.
A few in the group had taken tablets. “Go on,” said another, later in the evening. “It's harmless.”
“Okay,” I said. I swallowed5 the pill. That night I became totally animated and I was like a ball of energy on the dance floor6. The effects wore off7 after six hours. I hadn't suffered any harm.
I didn't take any more tablets until two months later when I went on vacation with two friends. A guy in a nightclub offered me half a tablet. I had no bad effects the first time, so I accepted his offer. This time, the tablet didn't seem to have any effect. In fact, I forgot all about it.
Next morning though, I felt so tired. I blamed8 it on late-night partying. Then I began to feel sick9. I couldn't get out of bed. I thought I might have food poisoning or I might have picked up something when I went scuba diving10 because I'd swallowed some water.
The rest of the holiday was wasted. I spent ten days in the hotel room. “Your eyes look yellow,”my friend told me.
When I got back home Mom took me straight to the doctor. He took a blood test and I waited for the results. Four days later I hadn't improved and Mom took me to the hospital. By now the results had come through11.
“It looks like there's something wrong with your liver,” said the doctor. Then he leaned forward and said. “Have you taken any drugs?”
I was aware that Mom was sitting right beside me. And I knew how she felt about drugs. I thought back to the half tablet of Ecstasy I took over my vacation. But it hadn't worked, I tried to convince12 myself. It had had absolutely no effect on me. It couldn't be the cause of all this.
“No,” I lied. “I haven't.”
The doctor wondered if I was suffering from hepatitis13. They wanted me to stay so that they could continue to check my liver.
Slowly I began to recover. Two weeks later I was out of the hospital. I took a month off from my job at a supermarket. Gradually, I began to feel better and I returned to work.
Then three weeks later I took another Ecstasy tablet when I was out. In my mind I'd never linked the Ecstasy tablet to my liver problem, so no voice in my head said, “Don't do it.”
I went downhill14 again, and a few weeks later a biopsy15 was carried out on my liver. I was admitted to the hospital16.
The doctor said, “The biopsy indicates your liver problem is drug-related, but we won't know properly until another few days.”
Again he asked the question, “Have you taken drugs?”
Again I lied. “No, I haven't,” I replied. I didn't dare to tell I had17.
Surely those small tablets couldn't have done this much damage to me?
I became more and more ill. Back at home one night I remember sending a cell phone text message to my friends. But I couldn't understand their replies. That was the last thing I remember.
When I woke up I was in the hospital again. Mom was there.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Just rest,” she said and smiled.
But later the nurse said something. My mind began to whirl18. “What on earth19 happened to me?” I demanded.
Mom gently took my hand. She started to speak. When she finished, the tears rolled down my cheeks. “How could I have been so stupid?” I wept.
Mom told me she'd taken me to the hospital. I'd gotten worse and worse and then slipped into a coma20. I went through liver failure21.
“They said you had three days left to live,” she said. “They said you needed a liver transplant22 urgently, or you'd die.”
On the third day, miraculously23, Mom was told a liver was available24 for me.
Doctors worked out that the tablet I took during my vaction caused the initial25 damage, and the third pill made it worse. I should have been truthful from the start. My mother had to find out through the hospital.
“If only you told us you'd taken drugs,” Mom said. “If you had, the doctors could have treated you much earlier and you possibly could've avoided your liver failing.”
Mom told me that I'd been in a coma for 20 days. I underwent a fivehour transplant operation. That was over a year ago and now it has been a success. But, I've had to learn to walk, talk and eat again because my body has been so ravaged26 by that little pill.
I'm so grateful I'm still here. Without my transplant I would have died. I'm determined to warn others now: never take that first tablet. It only takes one to kill you.
1. tablet n． (此处)迷幻药（片）
2． drum sth into sb ／into sb＇s head 反复向某人灌输某事
3． ecstasy n． （美俚）迷幻药
4． automatically adv． 不加思索地
5． swallow v． 吞，咽
6． 此句意为：那天晚上我动力十足，在舞池里像一个能量球。
animated adj． 有活力的
7． wear off 逐渐消失
8． blame sth on sth ／sb 归咎于某事／某人
9． sick [sik] adj． （此处）恶心的
10． 此句意为：我想我可能是食物中毒，或是在潜水时感染了什么病菌。
pick up （此处）得，染 （疾病） scuba diving 戴呼吸器潜水
11． come through （检查结果）出来
12． convince v． 说服
13． hepatitis n． 肝炎
14． downhill adv． （健康）走下坡路，恶化
15． biopsy n． 活体切片检查
16． 此句意为：我入医院接受治疗。
admit v． 接受
17． I didn＇t dare to tell I had＝ I didn＇t dare to tell I had taken drugs
18． whirl v． 眩晕
19． on earth 究竟，到底
20． slip into a coma 陷入昏迷
21． 此句意为：我得了肝衰竭。failure n． （医）衰竭
22． transplant n． 移植
23． miraculously adv． 不可思议
24． available adj． 可获得的；可用的
25． initial adj． 最初的，开始的
26． ravage v． 损坏