Guest Writer - Memories

Maddy on a trip to a Tiger Game with other surviors.

Maddy had an assignment to write about a memory. She gave me approval to post it.

March 3, 2010


Memories

I’ve had a lot of memories, throughout my life. But my favorite memory was when I was sick with cancer. It sounds bizarre because I had cancer, but it’s always been my favorite. I loved it because my family was very close at the time. Before I got sick we weren’t all that close, my older siblings never really visited us, and we never really stayed in contact with my relatives. Then in the summer of 2004 I was diagnosed with Burkett’s Lymphoma. I was rushed to the ICU floor at DeVos Children’s Hospital on July 22, 2004.

On my journey of being sick, I was always with a family member, whether it was my dad, mom, aunt, sister, or brother. I loved that I was always with one of them, if not all of them. A specific memory that I remember and favor the most was a day that I wasn’t able to get out of the hospital. It was in august and only a month after I got diagnosed so I wasn’t it was out of the question to leave my hospital room, but there was a hospital party at the nearby park, that I wasn’t able to go to. Since I couldn’t leave and I was disappointed all my brothers and sisters, mom and dad came to my hospital room and we had a picnic of our own. We all gathered around shot some videos for memories and watched old family videos. It was great, I loved that day.

While being sick there were also times that came, where I wish they never did. Being sick came with its up and its downs. One of the downs was the day I found out the cancer had spread to my heart and lungs. The day we found out, I know something wasn’t quite right. My dad was leaving that afternoon to go back home to Andy, and there was a feeling inside me where I just didn’t want him to leave, and I hadn’t felt good all that day. Turns out I got a CAT scan, and they found a lot more cancer surrounding my heart and lungs. I was rushed to the operating room where they inserted ‘pig tails’ into my back, to drain the fluid from my lungs.

That was one memory I could live without. Cancer gave me memories that I will never forget. Although it seems like a horrible thing, in an ironic way, it was the best year of my life. I’ll forever remember the days I spent in the hospital with my family and friends surrounding me with love and prayer.