An exceptional girl I met
Last October I got into college, and as you might imagine
I got to know new people. Different stereotypes, new faces, different styles
and different characters. First week of college is the best yet the most
confusing one. You wouldn't know all the students in each class you have, and
you get to know them just by sharing some thoughts about how strange the
lecturer is. Probably you get to know their name, where they’re from and what
time they woke up to arrive at college on time.
One thing I learnt was to always remember that everybody
has a story… everyone has been through or going through something which was
difficult to go through; maybe it was losing a family member or a friend,
fighting sickness, being a victim of domestic violence and many other stories.
I sometimes wonder if I’m the only one who faces problems in my life, just
because everyone around me seems so happy smiling. However, just because their
faces are covered in wonderful and beautiful smiles does not necessarily mean
they haven’t been through or going through anything rough.
I met an exceptional girl at the beginning of the Semester before a lecture we had together. She is always smiling. I never saw her with different facial expression in these two months I’ve been seeing her every day during English Classes, and always wondered and thought about her bubbly and sweet character. Until I added her as a friend on Facebook and was looking through her photo albums and saw a picture of younger her. I was reading the description of the photo and I couldn't believe it.
" 'Surviving cancer is not the end of an extremely unpleasant story. It is
the beginning of a beautiful one.’ Thing is, I can truly look back at myself
and realize how happy I was, even though I was weak I smiled daily and even
though I was little I fought hard to survive.” She
wrote. It shook me, and I was confused at the fact that she is always smiling
despite what she went through. She also stated that no matter how big the
struggle is, if you fight it, you will get through it. The next day I had a
chat with her at school, and I was stunned with her cancer survival story.
When she was just a baby she was diagnosed with cancer, Stage
4 Neuroblastoma. She had proptosis in her right eye and a large mass
originating from her left adrenal gland. She stayed in hospital and started
chemotherapy immediately.
After 6 months of aggressive chemo she flied to St. Georges Hospital in London
together with her family where she underwent surgery to remove the tumor. The
surgery went through well and she was back to Malta after a month. She was a
hospital patient for another month in Malta for severe observations. She flew to Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton
for her last treatment of high dose chemotherapy.
She was back to Malta after two months, and after 10 months she was healthy and
cancer free. She attended follow-ups for several years but now she is
completely cancer free and grown into a beautiful and surely exceptional young lady.
It’s extremely difficult for a young child to survive through
a cancer that aggressive, so she must be considered as a very lucky girl. She thanks
all the people who helped her family and herself both financially and
emotionally, as times like those bring the need for support and encouragement which she surely
got from family and friends.