Strong

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You Are

Honorable Mention2011

Andre Sobel

Award

Patrick Aylward

    On   the   surface,   Patrick   is   the   stereotypical   eighteen   year-­‐old:  A   vibrant  young  man  ready  to  take  on   the  rigorous  demands  of  college  life.  Yet,  four  years  ago,  his   stereotypical   existence  was   shattered   the   day  he  was  diagnosed  with  Acute  Lymphoblastic  Leukemia.    

“When   I   first   found   out   I   was   sick,   I   was   in   denial.   It   was   surreal,”   said  Patrick.  The   medical   professionals   at  Yale-­‐New   Haven   Hospital   in   Connecticut  were  quick  to   take  action.  “The  support  from  the  medical  staff  made  my  illness  tolerable,”  notes  Patrick.  “They  are  apart  of  my  family  now  because  you  cannot  go   through  an   ordeal   such   as  cancer  and  not  be   thankful   for  all   that  they  did  to  help  me  get  better.”  When  asked  what  advice  he  had  for  others  who  were  going  through  an  illness,  he  said  to  remain  patient  and  remember  that  it  is  only  a  small  fraction  of  your  life.  

Thanks  to   the  support  of  his  family  and  the  care  he  received  at  Yale-­‐New  Haven  Hospital,  Patrick  is  now  is  remission  and  “loving  life.”  Currently  a  freshman  attending  St.  Mary’s  College  of  Maryland,  Patrick  plans  on  pursuing   a  degree   in  Political   Science.  He   is   looking   forward  to   what   this  next   chapter   in   life  has   in  store  for  him.    

About

What  an  Everyday  Person  Should  Know  About  an  Adolescent's  Cancer  Journey  to  Health

         Now  that  I  have  finally  finished  my  long  journey  of  going   from  a  cancer  patient  to  a  cancer  survivor,   I   feel   that   I   should   share   some   of   my   insider   knowledge   about   what   you   REALLY  should  know  about  an  adolescent's  road  to  survival.

         What  you  need  to  understand   is  that  cancer  is  not   just  a  disease.    Cancer  is  a   lifestyle  that  you  must   bow   to   until   it   is   literally   out  of   your   body.    What   I  mean  by   this   is   that   from  the  second  the  doctor  diagnoses  you,  cancer  is  all  that   is  ever  on  your  mind   from  the  second  you  wakeup  until  the  time  you  fall  asleep.    And  if  you  are  lucky,  it's  not  also  while  you  are  sleeping.    I  want  to  make  it  clear  that   this  is  not   just  because  you  are  scared;  this  is  because  every  person  you   see  will   ask   you   about   your   cancer,   any   activity   that   you   plan   will   be   affected   by   your  cancer,  and  even  THOUGHTS  are  affected  by  your  cancer.    At  one  point,   instead  of  thinking  of  myself  as  a  teenage  boy,  I  thought  of  myself  only  as  a  cancer  kid.    In  my  eyes,  this  right  here  is  the  number   one  cause  of   setbacks   in   cancer  patients,   because   if   you   start   to  get   a   negative  mindset,   your  body  reacts  to   that   in  the  same  negative  way.    Keeping  a  positive  attitude  is  a  cancer  patient's  full  time  job.

          If   you   think   that   going   through   cancer   would   be   a   time   that   strengthens   all   of   your  relationships  with  your  friends  and  family,  you  are  sorely  mistaken.    Yes  this  is  true  for  some  of  your  relationships,  and  truly  does  show  who  your  closest  friends  are,  but  you  are  also  going  to  see  that  some  people  who  you  though  were  your  closest   friends  just  disappear.    This  is  when  you   see  that   cancer   patients  are  mentally  some   of   the  strongest   people  on   this  planet.     Not  only  must  they  deal  with   the  mental  stress  of  fighting  for   their  life,  but  also  at  the  same  time  they  have  to  deal  with  losing  the  people  they  thought  they  could  trust  the  most.    And  in  a  time  like  this,  when  they  have  every  right  to  be  resentful,  somehow  they  must  find  a  way  to  let  it  go  and   just   move   forward.     For   example,   I   found   myself   watching   my   own   friends   mentally  breakdown  because  of  me.    Yes  this  shows  how  much  they  care  about  me,  but  it  also  meant  I  had   to   worry  about  them  on   top   of  worrying   about  myself.     I  had   friends   that  would  call  me  three  times  a  day  yet  I  never  talked   to   them  because  when   I  would  answer  the  phone   I  would  hear   sobbing   and   then   the  "click"   of   the  phone  hanging  up   on  me.    One  of   these   times,  the  mom  called  me  back  a  minute   later  to  say  she  was  sorry,  but  "Kate  can't  work  up  the  courage  to  talk  to  you."    If  you  have  never  had  this  happen  to  you,  I  hope  it  never  does.    Never  in  my  life  have   I  ever  felt   so   helpless  and   confused.    Since  when  does  my  best   friend   have  to  work  up  courage  to  talk  to  me?    Its  times  like  these  that  you  will  never  forget,  but  they  also  remind  you  of  just  how  strong  you  really  are.

Essay

         Cancer  can  be  a  time  of  extreme  loneliness.    When  people  ask  me  about  the  darkest  time  I  had  during  my  treatment,   I  instantly  think  of  my  first  night  in  the  hospital.    There  I  was  lying  in  a  hospital  bed   for   the  first  time  ever.     I  was  dripping  wet   in  sweat,  listening   to  the  beeping  of  the  heart  monitors  and   I  look  over  at   the  clock  and   see  that   it   is  2  A.M.    For  the  first  time   in  about  16  hours  I  was  finally  alone,  no  more  doctors  and  no  more  people  asking  me  how  I  feel.    I  knew  I  wasn't  going  to  be  able  to  fall  asleep  that  night;  I  was  just  waiting  for  my  first  surgery  at  7  A.M.  which  would  be  followed  by  my  first  round  of  chemo.    This  was  when  I  had  that  daunting  question   in   my   head,   "why   me?"     I   had   never   done   anything   bad;   I   even   went   to   church  frequently;   I  mean,   there  are   so  many   bad   people   out   there   that   this  could've  happened   to  instead!    And   then   to   top   it   off,   I  knew  my  friends  were  at   home  as  healthy  as  could   be  and  sound  asleep  in  their  own  comfy  beds.    This  was  when  I  decided   I  was  going   to  do  what  ever  it  took  to  get  myself  healthy  so  I  would  never  again  have  to  experience  that  kind  of  loneliness.

         By  now  as  you  are  reading  this,  you  probably  think  that  there  is  nothing  positive  that  could  come  out  of  this  experience,  but  you  are  wrong.    Some  of  my  best  memories  and  relationships  are  because  of  going   through   cancer.    All  of  my  nurses  and  doctors  I  now  consider  my  family.    All   of  the   time   and   hardships   that   I   have   gone   through  with   them  has  made   a   bond   that   is  unbreakable.     I   realized   all  of  this  on   the  day  that   is  now  more   special   to  me   than   even  my  birthday  ~  my  final  day  of  chemo!    Finishing  3   1/2  years  of  chemo   is  very  much   like  earning   a  badge  of  honor.    I  had  just  won  my  own  war,  and  a  war  that  many  people  don't  always  win.    The  reward   is  that   I  can  now  start  my  life  over  as  a  "normal"  person,  and  finally  start  feeling  good  again  with   no  worries.     I  remember   starting   to   feel  tears  come  on   but   could  not   understand  why.    There  is  a  tidal  wave  of  emotion  that  hits  you  that   I  cannot  describe  with  words.    You  will  never   understand   how  powerful   it   is   unless   you   have   experienced   it   yourself.    This   day   of  triumph   is  what  makes  your  years  of  fighting  and  pain  all  worth   it.    You  realize  that  the  person  you  are  at   this  time  is  100  times  stronger  than  the  person  you  were  when  you  started.    This   is  why  I  say  that  cancer  was  one  of  the  best  things  that  ever  happened  to  me