Wild for a Cure

Araella really wanted to accept the invitation to speak here tonight, but couldn’t bring herself to do so just yet. I understood her difficult decision this week as I started to think about what I would say in her place…

As many of you know, Araella – a 2016 graduate from EAHS – was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes in August. She was 18 years old and the news was delivered the day before we were supposed to leave for her freshman orientation at Waynesburg University.

What some of you might not know, is that the story really began a few months earlier, in February, when Araella was in an accident and suffered a serious concussion along with some trauma to her chest from the seatbelt or the steering wheel.  We are not sure of the details because Araella was unconscious for a short time and does not remember the accident.

I am by no means saying that the accident caused the cancer, but Araella believes that part of the reason the cancer grew so quickly inside of her was because of the stress, the loneliness, and the self pity that she felt during the end of her senior year (which she completed from home). Add to that all of the medication she was on to help with concussion symptoms as well as a less than healthy diet and you have what she believes was a perfect situation for cancer to grow.

Araella felt something growing inside of her shortly after prom.  She mentioned it to a few friends who assured her it was just hormonal. They believed she was too young for it to be anything else! When Rae mentioned it to me in July, I also assumed it was a benign nuisance. By then though, it had grown enough that it was noticeable in a bathing suit - so, we scheduled the first available appointment in August figuring the surgery to have it removed would probably be over Christmas break…  Needless to say, a cancer diagnosis was not what we were expecting.

Going home and unpacking all of Araella's college bins was almost unbearable.  And saying goodbye to everyone that WAS leaving for college was heartbreaking for Rae, but she was tired of feeling sorry for herself and decided to handle this setback with more strength and dignity than the concussion.  Araella seemed to have an almost immediate clarity about what she was going to do.  Among other things, she decided to stop eating all processed sugar and to stop taking all of her medications. The next major hurdle was to decide where to get her treatment.  As an 18 year old, Araella’s medical expenses could have been covered by Four Diamonds, however she was advised to treat the cancer that was growing inside of her as an adult rather than in a pediatric setting.  So, we began the task of seeking the best place for her treatment.

We ended up going to CTCA in Chicago where Araella’s desire to have nutrition play a major role in her treatment could be done along with chemotherapy.  At each place that we went to seek opinions on her treatment, I brought up my concerns about the lingering effects of her concussion and my apprehensions about “chemo brain” making it worse. It was at CTCA that the health of her  brain was addressed.  A nurse mentioned a new treatment that could prevent Araella from losing her hair, and more importantly, could protect her brain during chemotherapy. The answer, the Dignicap, was one of the things that insurance would not cover. I sent out a brief text to my mom and two other Etown Mom’s and within minutes I had responses from all three of them saying that the cost would be covered.  It is difficult to explain those moments, but I will never forget the tears in the nurse's eyes and the resolve in Araella's posture when I said, “Araella’s town is going to cover the cost.”

And it is for that reason I am here tonight.  To thank everyone who raised funds to save Araella’s hair  -  and to protect her brain  -  and to provide her with vitamins and supplements that have kept her from getting even the sniffles at school this semester.

To thank you also, for your prayers. Araella felt them. I felt them. Even before the chemotherapy treatments were completed, the 9 x 4 cm cancerous tumor that was once inside of her had disappeared. And in its place, Araella has been filled to overflowing with attributes including those mentioned in Christopher’s Four Diamonds story.

As I thought about your "Wild for a Cause" THON theme, I was reminded of a Cherokee Legend about two wolves that are fighting inside of each of us.  One is evil, the other is good… and as the legend goes, the one that wins - is the one you feed.

Feed courage and there is no room for fear.

Feed wisdom and there is no room for doubt.

Feed honesty and there is no room for falsehood.

Feed strength and there is no room for infirmity.

Elizabethtown teams, clubs, groups, families and individuals - thank you for helping to feed Araella’s courage and strength. There is so much power in what you did for her – and in what you are doing for Four Diamonds families. As you are THONing to feed the courage and strength of others tonight, don't neglect to feed the good within yourselves.  FTK, for Araella, and for each of you <3

This post was written for the Elizabethtown High School "Wild for a Cure" mini-THON on March 10 where I spoke on Araella's behalf while she played BINGO on the other side of the state at WU =] Speaking wasn't easy, but the students cheered when I mentioned the tumor disappearing and I will carry that feeling with me for a long time!