Back in the Game After Cancer (page 4 of 4)

Becoming a Survivor

Last April, an X-ray revealed that the growth plate in Ashley’s right leg had closed. Now that the young woman had reached her final height of five feet, two inches, it was time for Dr. Neel to replace the Repiphysis with the stronger, more permanent Guardian. Ashley won’t need a new rod until she’s 25 or so.

Two weeks after the second surgery, 15-year-old Ashley, wearing a leg brace and on crutches, was back to enjoying get-togethers with her friends. She and her brother, Tyler, were even planning a dinner party for their parents’ 21st anniversary.

The one thing Ashley, Emily and other implant recipients cannot do is high-impact sports, which could break the implant or surrounding bone. “At first I was crushed I wouldn’t be able to cheer in a competition,” says Ashley. “I asked God a lot, Why me? But I’ve learned over the years there’s a reason why I went through this.” She was back in her cheerleading uniform, on the less rigorous spirit squad, last fall, and is practicing for her driver’s license exam in January.

Donna Garrett feels her daughter has been given way more than what cancer took away. She says Ashley was always kind but is even more compassionate now, an observation she made when Ashley’s three-month-old cousin died from a heart defect in 2003. “Ashley would tell her aunt that we’re going to get through this, that we all have a purpose,” Donna recalls. “When Ashley’s friends call to complain about boys, she tells them it’s not a big deal in the scheme of things. Her priorities are much different from those of a lot of other teenagers.”

For Emily, the sacrifices have been harder to swallow. While she’s grateful to be able to hike, garden and work out on the treadmill, what she really wants to do is take off on a full-speed run. “I want to feel the wind in my face and get my heart rate up like I used to when I was on the soccer field,” she says, sitting on the couch of her home in Cordova, with her dachshund mix, Molly, asleep at her feet. “It’s a harsh realization because I used to be 130 pounds of solid muscle. Now I’m much curvier and not much muscle.” A small price to pay. The long process of becoming a cancer survivor, she says, has allowed her to become something else.

When she returned to college after her treatment, forced to leave soccer behind, Emily’s grades soared. She graduated summa cum laude in December 2005. And the experience has brought her and Chris, who started dating as teenagers and are expecting a baby in May, much closer.

“When we first met, hugging was awkward for him. After I got sick, he had to learn to hold me and make it okay. And he can even deal with throw-up now,” Emily says. “I always joke that cancer sucks, but a lot of really good things came out of it.”

From Reader's Digest - December 2007

 

• • Inspiring Stories
• Arthritis
• • Medical Dramas
• • Survival Stories
• Cancer

• 2007 St. Jude Thanks & Giving Campaign
• 
• Finding Hope at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
• At St. Jude Hospital, a remarkable medical team gives sick children all they ever wanted, a chance at a future.
• 
• Festive Ways to Save Lives
• A survivor explains how breast cancer has positively impacted her life.
• 
• Help for a Killer Cancer
• A new procedure may facilitate early detection of esophageal cancer.
• 

• Be Inspired
• 10 Celebrities Who Give Back
• 7 Amazing Stories, $700,000 to Charity
• Virginia Cervasio: Making It Matter
• PLUS:
• Quiz: What's Your Celebrity Cause IQ?