Colleen Joyce
Testing my courage
Throughout life there are experiences that require courage and confidence to overcome. I, myself, have faced many occasions when I needed to be strong and brave. I will choose one to tell you about.
When I was nine years old something terrible happened to me. It was Friday, Nov. 13, and I had many pains in my legs for a while. I had just seen the doctor the other day, and my blood counts were in. My mother picked me up early from school. I knew that something was definitely wrong.
I was waiting in the emergency room of Children's Hospital in Boston. After a long wait we were finally called. A doctor examined me. A couple of nurses took my blood. I was afraid of the needle, but, finally, I just let them take it. We then waited anxiously for the counts to be tested.
It was near midnight when the doctor came into our room. My white and red cell counts were not normal. My white counts were extremely high, which showed that I had an infection. We soon found out that I had ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia), a type of cancer in your blood. My mother burst into tears. I was brave and didn't get upset. I was more shocked then anything and I didn't really understand. I was confused.
The chemotherapy lasted for two long years full of pain, mouth sores, vomiting, fevers, and infections. But I survived, and I never had any negative thoughts. I am so thankful that I am still alive.
In conclusion, there are many life experiences that test your confidence. Having been through a life-threatening illness tested my courage tremendously. There will probably be more times when I will need to test my courage again, and I'm ready for them. This experience may not have been a good one, but it will make me stronger for the future.
