How Diagnosis Changed My Life

652 Words3 Pages
Being locked away for four years of my life was not an option. Diagnosis was a beginning, not an end. Induction gave me 29 days of new experiences. That first morning at home, awakening in agony, marked the beginning of a new way of living. My leukemia diagnosis ripped the feeling of control away from me, forcing every step of my future to become a group decision. While this was hard to accept, I can hope every day to gain back my old independence, and I appreciate any independence I already have so much more now. Hope is the best thing in these situations, and as the hospital’s motto reveals, “Hope lives here.” Two weeks prior to my diagnosis, I found myself on the brink of what I assumed would be my life’s greatest journey for a long while. Ten days alone with a group of four Boy Scouts and two adult leaders, all trained to take on New Mexico’s rugged and exciting terrain. The seven of us elected me as leader, and placed faith in me to get us to the far corners of the map and back to base camp. We hiked up over mountains and down into valleys. Across waterfalls and through forests. We lost the path more than once, and found it again just as many times. From time to time I noticed…show more content…
My mother seemed insulted at this. She has only so much free time between her two jobs, and often that time is occupied by taking care of her home and the many creatures that live within. She reluctantly canceled her plans for the day and took me to the doctor’s office. This was the fourth time since April being seen for the same issues, and finally the pediatrician was concerned enough to send me for some serious testing. Most radiology and phlebotomy facilities had already closed for the day with the exception local imaging center. A soft tissue picture of the chest was all it took. Before mother and I had even made it home, the general practitioner sent us rushing to the hospital. “Plan to stay overnight,” was as much as we
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