Finding Hope, My Story

When I was seven years old, I was diagnosed with adrenal cortical carcinoma, in others words: cancer. Adrenal cortical carcinoma means a tumor was inside my adrenal gland, which made me have a deeper voice and made me grow faster than I should have. I was extremely lucky in that I did not have to take chemo or radiation therapy. In fact, my whole time in the hospital was just recovering from surgery. The surgeon took out my whole adrenal gland! When I came back from school, there was a line of classmates waiting to hug me; even the ones I was not a big fan of! My mom had to come with me to school, I couldn’t run around at recess, and the girl who was mean to me gave me a get-well present. It was a crazy time! Once I came back, I was treated like a completely different person. Everyone felt sorry for me. From the second you arrive at the hospital with a cancer diagnosis, you are no longer normal.

Just like me, all the other childhood cancer warriors face challenges in the hospital and out. It can be tempting to give up hope. One day, when I was waiting to get a blood draw, I noticed a flyer for the Miracle Party. We decided to try it out. At the Miracle Party, me and my family walked on a gold carpet and were cheered for by a bunch of random strangers. One lady had almost the same dress as me! That lady’s name is Emma and she became a great friend. The miracle party had a dance floor , live music, silent auction. beautiful decorations, lots of fun games and acrobats! All just for kids with cancer and their families. As my family was looking at the silent auction stuff, we noticed booths advertising summer camps. We grabbed some flyers and tried it out.

The first camp was Shining Stars . Shining Stars has three different camps: winter games, summer adventure and family adventure. All three of these camps were so much fun. At the winter games, they fly kids from all over the country to Aspen, Colorado. At this camp, I got a week off school to learn how to ski! We all had personal ski or snowboard instructors. Not only was there skiing and snowboarding, each day was something different and fun. One night we had a talent show another night we watched a magic show and so much more fun stuff. At the end of the week we had a skiing and snowboarding competition to show off our skills and a ceremony to give awards, say thank you and watch the slideshow. The summer adventure was really fun too. I attended at least ten pool parties, learned to cook at a five star restaurant, visited an art museum, climbed a mountain and rode my first horse. What is awesome about both these camps was that we got so much stuff and pretty much all of Aspen knows we are here. At the family adventure camp, my whole family got to come. We went summer sliding, go kart rides at winter park and much more amazing stuff.

Second, was Wapiyapi. What was awesome about this camp was that my sister, Sarah, could join in on the fun and that everyone had a teenage buddy for you to hang out with. My buddy's name is Colleen and she is awesome. At Wapiyapi, I was able to conquer my fear of heights and take part in the high ropes course. Some parts were harder than others, but the zip-line at the end made it all worth it.

Last but certainly not least, was Camp Courage. At this camp the first thing we did was go on zip lines and a giant swing. We got to swim in a lake, we did a low ropes course and a high ropes course! My favorite was when we did a rubber duck race (even though I got 16th place). All these camps and the Miracle Party helped me forget about cancer and just be a normal kid. I am so grateful for all of this fun, amazing stuff, but it all cost money. That is why I need your help. Anything you donate can help send another kid like me to camp. So they can have as much fun as I did. Click on the links below to donate to any of these great organizations!