I believe that in order to build character, one must be challenged and overcome a difficulty. This is the start of my journey, a journey that opened my eyes to qualities in others and qualities in myself that I had no idea existed. I am a childhood cancer survivor. The two years of treatment tested my patience, stamina, grit, and made me grow up fast. At the age of nine, I was diagnosed with T-cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma. This is a somewhat rare childhood blood cancer. The news was tough on my family.
My mom, dad, and sister (then seven years old) rallied around me, and we began to walk the difficult road ahead. At the time, I didn’t really comprehend the weight of Dr. Ziga’s words, as I was only nine, but all too soon it became very real. I endured several surgeries, two years straight of chemotherapy, twenty puncture procedures in the small of my back and weeks of radiation therapy. Some people may like time off work or school, but the long hospital stays truly began to tear away at my being. The equipment was really immobilizing and stifling. I would have fluid pumped into me at all times, including chemo. The medicine was curing my cancer but made me feel like dirt the whole time.
Moving around was difficult, but I still wanted things to do. I still wanted to be a kid, so we had to get creative. I would have my mom read books to me; we basically went through the entire Harry Potter series in one hospital stay. I got Lego sets from friends and family to build to pass the time, which really kept my mind off of the ordeal. I also played a fair amount of video games as well. I won’t ever forget the strong support from family, friends, doctors, and nurses. During my hospital stays, I even got to meet a few celebrities, like Cardinals baseball pitcher Chris Carpenter, and (then) St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford. It was very nice to meet them both. The kindness of others made these stays better; something I will never forget.
This disease also halted my traditional schooling for some time, which meant I had to be homeschooled and tutored. I worked every week with my tutors to keep up with the rest of the third graders at Craig Elementary. I struggled with math in grade school and I needed the extra help. After about ten months of constant and interruptive hospital stays, I finally could return to school. I was now in fourth grade but had never spent any time with my new classmates. All this time away made me nervous about coming back, so someone from the Children’s Hospital staff showed a video to my classmates to explain where I’d been all this time. It was a kid who left his school for treatment, just like me. It explained what that kid had to go through and why his hair was gone.
I had to muster a lot of courage to go back to school and reconnect. Deep down, I was hiding the fact that I needed them to understand what was happening to me. The warm welcome at school made me feel like everyone knew me and my struggles. Everyone was compassionate, supportive, and happy to see me back. I learned that given the information about cancer treatment, the kids at school were incredibly compassionate and understanding. The extra help in math makes me appreciate it more now. Sometimes, just pure love and support builds character.
Practice and perseverance are building blocks for my personality. I started learning violin in third grade with the rest of my classmates, which, due to my diagnosis, was cut short. I really liked playing but was unable to practice daily with my classmates in the school orchestra. This caused me to fall behind. My parents arranged private lessons to help me keep up. I still take private violin lessons to this day and have played and continue to perform with the Parkway North Symphonic Group.
Maintaining a routine while practicing made me really appreciate music, and I began to get even better than my peers. This newfound skill gives me pride every time I pick up my violin. I think back and remember all my time with my many private violin teachers and thank them for their valuable advice and guidance. I feel like the years spent learning the violin and honing that skill was a special gift and a silver lining to a rough patch in my life.
I think patience was a key factor in my childhood that helped develop my character. Nothing is done quickly in the hospital. My family had an inside joke that we were on “hospital time;” everything takes 3 times longer than normal in the hospital. When I finished up my treatment, I felt like I was on “Jack time” and was ready to take on the world with passion and dedication. I believe this journey led me to be a more compassionate person and also taught me patience. Sometimes, you have to show up for what life hands you and journey on.
This particular chapter in my life is behind me, but it helped me, but it helped shape the person I am today. I matured fast, gained practice skills, reconnected with friends, and I’m more empathetic. You never know when you look at someone what struggles life has shown them, so I feel this has made me be more understanding. if life is easy and carefree, then a person can’t grow. If I hadn’t gone through the cancer treatment, then I wouldn’t be the person I am today.
~~John Nimock