The Strength to Never Quit

or three weeks straight, Natalia Klein wasn’t able to keep any food down. Fear and anxiety spread throughout her. Her health was quickly declining. She was losing weight, and fast. 

An undiagnosed celiac disease was the cause of the weight loss, but soon it turned into more. After multiple different tests, Natalia was diagnosed with SMA syndrome, or better known as Superior Mesenteric Artery syndrome. 

The fat pad in her stomach that surrounds her small intestine was disappearing, causing a compression. Soon after her diagnosis, Natalia was admitted to the hospital, where a feeding tube was placed. 

“I got it placed [on a] Saturday, and they gave me some medicine so I wouldn’t remember it as well,” Natalia said. “It basically goes down your nose, past your stomach and into your intestines. I would definitely say it was a little scary. It was definitely painful, but the team at MUSC is really great.” 

However the feeding tube was just the start of what Natalia would experience. Multiple tests were done in order to find the true cause behind all the pain. 

“I got diagnosed with an upper GI study,” Natalia said. “You swallow this radioactive liquid and they can watch it go down, over a fluoroscopy, which is like an x-ray.” 

After experiencing multiple CT scans, ultrasounds, and even a gastric empty scan, Natalia was able to learn about her SMA syndrome. 

“Superior Mesenteric Artery syndrome is a condition in which your fat pad that surrounds your duodenum or small intestine goes away and then your superior mesenteric artery basically compresses your duodenum and causes an…obstruction,” Natalia said. 

In Spring of 2021, towards the end of her 7th grade year, Natalia was given a surgical feeding tube to help with her feeding. Even with school, Natalia was forced to stay online due to her health and feeding schedule. 

As difficult as this situation was for Natalia, she found the support and love that she needed from both her family and her friends. 

“My friends were really great with it. They definitely were the highlight of that time and same with my family,” Natalia said. 

Natalia’s older sister, Senior Gabi Klein, says that both her and her sister have grown closer together in recent years, especially after her diagnosis. At first, Gabi was unaware of what was happening to her sister. 

“I didn’t really know what it was at first, but when I found out what it was it was scary,” Gabi said. 

However, Gabi found that their family all grew closer and started spending more time together in supporting Natalia through everything. As her older sister, Gabi did what she could to help Natalia. 

“I just tried to be there for her as much as I could and let her talk to me and know that I could help with whatever she needed help with,” Gabi said. 

Freshman Evelyn Durkee, one of Natalia’s close friends, has seen the strength and courage that Natalia has shown throughout everything. Growing close in the past year, Durkee didn’t learn about her SMA syndrome until recently. 

“She told me and it kind of caught me off guard because you wouldn’t expect that from her,” Durkee said.  “She hides it well. She’s just so controlled.” 

Durkee spends a lot of time with Natalia, along with checking up on her when things get rough. 

“I’ve learned how strong she is,” Durkee said.  “She just gets over things… a lot more than people would think. She’s been through so much and so many people just don’t understand how hard it was for her.” 

In recent times, Durkee saw the courage and strength that Natalia had to show during a band practice. 

“Fairly recently, we were at a band camp and she had just gotten her tube replaced and she was really hurting,” Durkee said.  “You could tell and she just wanted to finish what we were doing and she wouldn’t sit down.” 

However, Durkee was able to talk through Natalia’s pain and ease her back into the practice. 

With these big life adjustments, Natalia was able to learn more about herself through it all. 

“I definitely learned a lot from this. I [learned] that I’m a lot stronger than I would’ve ever felt I could have been,” Natalia said. “ If you feel something is wrong, definitely tell your doctor and just always make sure to have a good support system, surround yourself with the right people.”