On July 17, 2002, my family, friends, and I heard the worst news ever that impacted all of our lives especially mine. I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at the age of three. Being so young, I did not know what obstacles were coming my way, all I knew was that I would be extremely sick. I felt so nauseated and my whole body used to hurt all the time. I remember the day I was diagnosed like it was yesterday. The nurses carried me into a big room with big, bright lights looking down on me. They put me on this hard and very cold, metal table. They were all holding me down while one nurse was trying to find a vein. I was screaming in pain while she stuck me in the arm, wrist, hand and even foot. They were trying to calm me down by saying “I’m so sorry sweetie, one more pinch, we are almost over.” Their comforting words did not help at all. I kept screaming and crying for my mom but she could not do anything. She helplessly cried in the corner wishing she could hold her daughter’s hand.
I stayed in the hospital for about ten weeks, but me being so young it felt like years. It was so dreadful for me to stay in a hospital bed all day long and only get up to use the restroom or walk to the playroom. The big machine that was connected to me pumped massive loads of medicine in my body that every night I wetted the bed. I was so embarrassed but my mother comforted me and said it was not my fault, that it was cancer’s fault. Also, I never ate hospital food because it was so nasty. The breakfast food was so dry and the dinner food never had any seasoning so it was bland. The cookers definitely did not know how to cook like a Cajun. It got to the point that the nurses and my parents had to bribe me to eat. If I ate my food, I was able to go to the playroom. You think the playroom was the best activity in the hospital environment for a sick child but it wasn’t. I had to wear that itchy gown and that smothering mask. I barely was able to talk to my hospital friends because that mask took up my whole face.
After those long weeks, I was finally stable enough to leave the hospital and go home. I thought I was finally free from that hospital setting and would not have to see it again. Well, my three-year-old mouth spoke too soon. Two weeks later I had to go back for chemotherapy. Going for treatments were not as bad as staying in the hospital, but I still hated it. I was able to play an old Nintendo game with my friend while waiting to get called to the back. My emotions changed drastically from being happy to being scared. I remember that when the nurse was about to access my port in my chest, I made myself cry so I would concentrate on crying and not the pain of the needle going into my skin.
Weeks, months, years passed and I could finally say that I was cancer-free on January 15, 2005. it was a long, stressful journey but I finally beat cancer’s butt! It might be weird saying this, but I was blessed to have cancer and go through those obstacles. It made me a stronger person and overcome any obstacles or fears that came in my way. A few years after I became cancer-free, I was invited to go to a cancer camp in Mobile, Alabama. I was seven at the time and I was really scared to go to another state without my parents for a week. When I arrived at camp, the directors, campers, and counselors welcomed me with hellos and warm hugs. Camp gave off a positive vibe the minute I stepped off the bus. I met so many people that went through the same journey as me. Camp helped me come out of my shell and be myself for once. I am truly happy that I went to camp because I met three of my very close friends there. They all live in Louisiana and we all get to hang out throughout the year besides at camp. I am glad that I made friends with them because we all went through cancer and we know each other better than our normal friends.
Having Leukemia was a huge blessing to me. That horrible disease made me an inspiration to many people. It also inspired me to become a tough person and to not care about what people think of me when they see my physical appearance. Cancer came with many obstacles and fears but I am glad I got to overcome them and share my experience with other people. I am also happy that I made some very special friends along this journey. Cancer might be a horrible disease but, in my vocabulary, it was a blessing.
~~Halle Theall