Approximately 1,735,350 people are diagnosed with cancer each year. Never did I imagine that I’d be one of them. 

“You might have Leukemia,” was what the doctor told me and just like that, my life was turned upside down in a matter of seconds. After hearing those words, everything froze. Suddenly all I could hear were my own thoughts and the sound of my heart beating out of my chest. You’d think that I’d be thinking about how I was probably going to die but no. All I was thinking about was how I was going to do everything in my power to get better. I didn’t have any knowledge as to what leukemia was besides the fact that it was a type of cancer. After the doctor had informed us about what was possibly going on, I turned to see my mom sobbing next to me. I didn’t blame her, I was trying my hardest to hold in my tears but eventually they started coming down one by one. I was only 15 years old with so much more to live and experience. There was no way that I would allow cancer to take over my life. I was determined to fight this battle and that’s exactly what I did. Although the doctor had said that I “might” have leukemia, deep down inside I knew I had it. That night I didn’t sleep. I was taken to a different hospital that had specialized doctors who could help me. I had countless amounts of tests done and the next day, my gut feeling was confirmed. I had Acute Myeloid Leukemia, which was a form a leukemia that spreads rapidly around the body and could kill you within a matter of months. Luckily for me, they had found it early. Everything after my diagnosis went by so fast. Suddenly the hospital became my second home. I would have 5, 7, or 3 days of consecutive chemo with hardly any sleep, extremely bad shivers, constant vomiting, and constant fevers. I would stay there for a month straight as my blood count would decrease and then increase again. I was only allowed to go home once my blood counts were high enough. The longest period of time that I was allowed to go home was for 2 weeks. This went on for a total of 4 months. In that period of time I really learned how we as humans take so many things for granted. Even the simplest things like the fresh air outside. Everytime I would exit those hospital doors the fresh air would hit my face and I swear I would even feel like kissing the ground out of happiness. Throughout this entire journey my mom was always by my side. She was the main reason why I knew I had to fight as hard as I did. My mom and I have always had an unbreakable bond. She wouldn’t ever leave my side unless it was necessary. Eventually, she ended up losing her job. I felt extremely guilty. I felt that it was because of me that now she had even more stress on her shoulders. I knew it was hard for her to stay strong and to keep herself from crying but I made sure to reassure her that WE were going to be okay. My mom and I began praying every single night.  We come from a Ccatholic family but we’ve never been the type to go to church every single Sunday. I had always heard stories about people claiming that God was able to work miracles but I never really believed it until now. No miracle occured for me but I felt his presence with me everyday. I know many people wouldn’t believe me but that doesn’t matter. I know for a fact the he was there with me each step of the way. Thankfully for me, I went on remission after every round of chemo. But that wasn’t enough. My type of leukemia was too aggressive and I needed a bone marrow transplant. Many friends and family of mine offered to donate but unfortunately it wasn’t that simple. I needed someone who’s DNA matched mine almost identically. 2 weeks later my match was found. My transplant was scheduled for January 16th, 2018. I would have to go in as an impatient a week before to undergo intense chemo and two rounds of radiation to make sure that my immune system was completely suppressed before the transplant. The doctors would ask every now and then if I was feeling any type of depression symptoms and I never did. Yes, I lost all my hair, my eyebrows were sparse, and my long lashes were barely even there but, I was always okay. That was until January. That month should’ve been the most exciting month. I was receiving my transplant, a new shot at life but I felt so trapped inside. Every smile was forced, I couldn’t laugh, I just felt like I had a dark cloud over me and nothing I could do would make it go away. To not worry anyone I kept it all to myself. January 16th eventually arrived. My entire family was there to show support. This would be what the nurse called my “second birthday”. I was informed about the slim chances of all the things that could possibly go wrong but I didn’t think any of that would happen to me. Boy was I wrong. A couple days later I got cold sores all over my lips and inside of my mouth. I couldn’t talk, eat, nothing. My kidneys began to fail, my liver was not functioning correctly, I got a heart murmur, my skin started to darken and peel off, and I got big and painful blisters all over my hands and feet which meant that I couldn’t walk or do anything. All I felt was pain. Day and night. I was given countless amounts of pain medicine but nothing worked. It got so bad to the point where I questioned God's decision. Why me? What did I do wrong? All my life I felt like I had done everything in my power to help people and be there for anyone whenever they felt alone or sad. I just couldn’t seem to understand why I had to go through something so terrible. Everyday for three months straight, I layed in that hospital bed like a useless vegetable. Everyday I questioned whether this battle was even worth fighting anymore. I couldn’t do it anymore. I felt defeated. I felt like I was holding on to a thin and skinny tree branch that was about to snap at any given second. I asked God to please give me strength to hold on for one more day. I didn’t want to die, especially not from cancer. 

It is now October 27th, 2019 2 years since my diagnosis and almost 2 years since my transplant and here I am writing this story that I never planned on sharing with anyone. I still question why this happened to me but, I’m no longer mad. I am a firm believer in the saying “Everything happens for a reason” and there is certainly a reason why I am still here today. Everyone’s path in life is different sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worst, but we as humans are stronger than we know and there will never be any obstacle in life that we won’t be able to overcome.