So the reason I decided to share my story is because I am a huge Taylor Swift fan. Perhaps I should explain more… For those of you who don’t know, taylor has a wonderful song titled “Ronan.” In it, she tells the story of Ronan, a boy who at three years old was diagnosed with cancer, and fought courageously. I have loved this song since the first time I heard it for multiple reasons, from the inspirational lyrics to the beautiful melody. The icing on the cake is that it is a perfect example of how Taylor uses her God-given gifts to do good in this crazy world. Taylor sends all the proceeds from Ronan’s song to the charity his mother founded in his name, The Ronan Thompson Foundation.
So now, back to its relevance to this blog. I watched an interview of Maya Thompson, Ronan’s mother, in which she said that writing her blog saved her while she was guiding Ronan through his treatments. As I will eventually share, I am in desperate need of a way to release my pent-up thoughts and feelings. So, I thought I would give blogging a try.
I left off my story when I went to the doctor after two weeks of a headache. Long story short, Dr. A did some tests and treated me to the best of her abilities. When she could not cure me, she referred me to a local neurologist, Dr. B, who told me I had stress headaches. She did not take me seriously, so I did not take her seriously. Needless to say, I only saw her once. This brought up a problem though… What comes next? Do I grin and bear it or look for another doctor? These were some of the questions running through my mind. I will ease your minds and tell you that eventually, I do find a good doctor. I will go into more details tomorrow ;P
As I said yesterday, God turns pain into joy. In a similar way, God turns bad into good. I never plan on going back to see Dr. B again, but I do plan on being a better doctor to my patients than she was to me. My current dream is to become a Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist. In human words, I want to be a child blood cancer doctor. Although I do not have blood cancer, I have a deep connection with it. My Uncle D was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma just before I was born. After the initial diagnosis, he beat cancer twice. He did not beat it a third time. I only knew Uncle D when he was sick. He was diagnosed, fought, and went into remission twice. The third time Uncle D was diagnosed, he got a stem cell transplant. This went beautifully, and once again he started on the path towards remission. Along the way, he and his wife brought a beautiful baby boy into the world. That boy is a miracle. Doctors told Uncle D that it would be next to impossible for him and his wife to have a child because of the cancer treatments. Uncle D is my mom’s brother, and for years my mom felt that she was helpless in her brother’s fight for life. Then one day, she heard about the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) organization, Team in Training (TNT). TNT trains people to run or walk half and full marathons. Like myself, my mom is not a runner. However, she’s found that she is a walker. Through TNT, my mom has walked four half marathons and raised over $16,000 for LLS. While there isn’t a cure for cancer yet and Uncle D lost his battle, my mom continues raising money for LLS in his name. This past year, she set a total fundraising goal, a sum of all her years of fundraising, at $16,000. This is a significant number because Uncle D battled cancer for 16 years.
Cancer treatments did not save Uncle D’s life, but they did save his heart. Uncle D is in heaven now, but he left his heart behind in his wife and son. He left us with the biggest piece of him, his son.
I love my family and I would do anything to have been able to save my uncle. Hopefully by becoming a Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist I can help children beat cancer and save families from having to go through a loss like my family’s.
“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Acts 20:35
Love always,
Sierra
P.S. I will not use the real names of other people in this blog for their privacy.
So now, back to its relevance to this blog. I watched an interview of Maya Thompson, Ronan’s mother, in which she said that writing her blog saved her while she was guiding Ronan through his treatments. As I will eventually share, I am in desperate need of a way to release my pent-up thoughts and feelings. So, I thought I would give blogging a try.
I left off my story when I went to the doctor after two weeks of a headache. Long story short, Dr. A did some tests and treated me to the best of her abilities. When she could not cure me, she referred me to a local neurologist, Dr. B, who told me I had stress headaches. She did not take me seriously, so I did not take her seriously. Needless to say, I only saw her once. This brought up a problem though… What comes next? Do I grin and bear it or look for another doctor? These were some of the questions running through my mind. I will ease your minds and tell you that eventually, I do find a good doctor. I will go into more details tomorrow ;P
As I said yesterday, God turns pain into joy. In a similar way, God turns bad into good. I never plan on going back to see Dr. B again, but I do plan on being a better doctor to my patients than she was to me. My current dream is to become a Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist. In human words, I want to be a child blood cancer doctor. Although I do not have blood cancer, I have a deep connection with it. My Uncle D was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma just before I was born. After the initial diagnosis, he beat cancer twice. He did not beat it a third time. I only knew Uncle D when he was sick. He was diagnosed, fought, and went into remission twice. The third time Uncle D was diagnosed, he got a stem cell transplant. This went beautifully, and once again he started on the path towards remission. Along the way, he and his wife brought a beautiful baby boy into the world. That boy is a miracle. Doctors told Uncle D that it would be next to impossible for him and his wife to have a child because of the cancer treatments. Uncle D is my mom’s brother, and for years my mom felt that she was helpless in her brother’s fight for life. Then one day, she heard about the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) organization, Team in Training (TNT). TNT trains people to run or walk half and full marathons. Like myself, my mom is not a runner. However, she’s found that she is a walker. Through TNT, my mom has walked four half marathons and raised over $16,000 for LLS. While there isn’t a cure for cancer yet and Uncle D lost his battle, my mom continues raising money for LLS in his name. This past year, she set a total fundraising goal, a sum of all her years of fundraising, at $16,000. This is a significant number because Uncle D battled cancer for 16 years.
Cancer treatments did not save Uncle D’s life, but they did save his heart. Uncle D is in heaven now, but he left his heart behind in his wife and son. He left us with the biggest piece of him, his son.
I love my family and I would do anything to have been able to save my uncle. Hopefully by becoming a Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist I can help children beat cancer and save families from having to go through a loss like my family’s.
“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Acts 20:35
Love always,
Sierra
P.S. I will not use the real names of other people in this blog for their privacy.
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