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Unfortunately, I was not one of those people who were attentive to their health. When I had an ailment, I let time pass until went away. That foolish thinking caused me to be left with lifelong sequelae from an ailment that has been going on for months.

Fortunately, today I no longer suffer from it, but sometimes I am afraid that it will come back and squeeze my insides as it did that time. I was a stubborn, indifferent and stubborn person, I didn't like others giving me advice that I didn't like. 

I listened with one ear attentive, and with the other, I dismissed the sentences they tried to imbue me with. I was never advised by ill-intentioned people; everyone was kind and I could tell they wanted the best for me, but my brutish donkey-like personality disdained everything that came into my life.

I started to fall into vices like smoking and alcohol. I started hanging out with certain types of people who did me no good. Sometimes I let myself get carried away by laziness and put aside my studies and my work for long periods. I was a gloomy mountain man without a shred of remedy.

The illness I told you about at the beginning, came without warning during that time, although I with my remote lifestyle was already invoking it. I began to feel constipation pains, some nausea, and abdominal stitches. 

At first, they were mild ailments and I didn't pay much attention to them. But as time went by, things got worse and I had to tell my father to help me to see a specialist. 

I was very scared, I never liked clinics or hospitals. I looked at myself in the mirror and was more haggard, with a dry face and very prominent features. I lost a lot of weight; I am already thin and at that moment I looked like a skin-and-bones freak.

I got worried. I gave up every bad habit that could hurt me until the day came to consult with the doctor. She was very kind, she made me feel comfortable from the first moment I arrived. 

She gave me a thorough check-up during the consultation until she could detect the problem: "You have some ulcers in your stomach," she said. I felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest.

"Relax, don't panic," she continued to explain to calm me down. "This is not the end of the world, but I will have to do another study to determine a diagnosis of your ulcers."

I was nervous. My insides wouldn't stop churning. I thought about my poor life and the irresponsible things I was doing. When the doctor had left for a moment to set everything up, I leaned my head forward and pressed my hands against my face.

I was so scared even though the doctor was telling me to relax because I once had a cousin who died of stomach ulcers. It was a very shocking thing for the family.

And now I was there, suffering. *How could I be such an idiot? Is this what I want to do for the rest of my life? Seeing doctors?* I thought, as I filed one of my fingernails with the office desk.

"Young man, come with me," the doctor said as soon as we entered. She took me into the other room where they did the tests and after a while determined the severity of my condition, then we went back to the office.

"Ok," the doctor blurted out. "This can be reversed, believe me. I'm going to send you a very strong but effective treatment that will make all those ulcers go away."

I sighed several times.

"But you must do this treatment as I am going to tell you, if you don't get better, there is no other option but to send you to surgery."

"Don't worry doctor, I will follow it to the letter," I assured him immediately as I clenched my hands.

"It's okay," she blurted out, then looked me straight in the eye as if detecting my fear and sadness. "You're a young guy, with your whole life ahead of you. Young people more than anything else should take care of themselves to start fostering a longer life. Don't be afraid, don't get discouraged, you'll see that everything will be fine," at the end she smiles at me and places one of her hands on my shoulder.

Seeing the doctor's eyes tucked me with hope. I thought about the lousy life I was leading and that if I didn't stop, things could end badly. I thanked the doctor for her service and left with a new mindset; with a new purpose.

I started the treatment the day after the consultation, at first it was hard, as it caused me a lot of fatigue. But then I began to assimilate it and the ailments slowly disappeared. 

I changed my diet, exercised more, and started eating more. I felt energetic and very hungry; I think that was the best part. I eliminated all those bad habits, now I could concentrate and be more proactive.

I stopped hanging out with certain friends and stayed with the ones that did contribute. I was more smiling, with a desire to do many things; I even became more creative in the exercise of my letters. 

I look back and how I wish I could turn back time to talk to my past self, to prevent the scars from staying there. Although it was a nice dream, I'm glad I came to my senses before I became a corpse.