NATCHEZ — When The Dart landed in Duncan Park last week, Rachel Felter and her boyfriend Phillip Johnson were looking for a brief break and decided to have lunch in the park.

Felter, who works at Circle K on Liberty Road, had some time to kill to think about the curveball life had thrown her.

Felter’s oldest daughter Halie Collins, 11, was hospitalized for double kidney infections not long ago. Felter took her daughter to a hospital in Jackson for treatment, but she was upset when she was still in pain the next day.

“She has a host of health problems, some the doctors don’t even know what’s wrong with her,” Johnson said. “She’s tough as nails. Her kidneys had almost completely shut down before she even complained about it.”

Felter said Collins has fought various health problems for about one year. Pediatricians diagnosed her with growing pains early on, but when the pain persisted she sought treatment in Jackson. Felter said doctors have been treating her for kidney infections, but it doesn’t seem to help her persistent pain. Felter said Colins hurts to the touch, and they have tried moving her to different doctors to get a second opinion.

“We know she’s hurting, we just don’t know what it is,” Felter said. “She’s up there with old people with the amount of medicine she takes every day.”

Collins keeps in good spirits like a typical 11 year old and Felter said she appears to be a normal kid on the surface. She attends Robert-Lewis Magnet School and friends’ birthday parties. Even if she is in pain, Felter said she stays in high spirits.

“She didn’t feel good, but she hobbled her tail over there anyway,” Felter said. “She didn’t get to play, but she sat and watched the other kids play. … Most of the time she puts a smile on her face.”

Collins has a room full of stuffed animals she has adopted from the toy machine in Walmart. Her latest grab is a stuffed skeleton she calls “Skelly.” Felter said while she doesn’t have much luck winning prizes herself, she always shells out a dollar for her daughter to try her luck at winning another toy.

“I said, ‘Halie that thing is kind of ugly,’” Felter said. “She said, ‘No, it’s cool, mom. Look at the hair. We’re going to name it ‘Skelly.’”

In the meantime, Felter said she is keeping her head up

“It’s all I can do,” she said. “I go to work and take care of her the best I can. … I’m scared because they don’t know what’s wrong with her.”