When I went through Chemotherapy, I was only a toddler. I was only two when it started and it finished when I was four. The tumor was on my optic nerve in my left eye, and even if it was benign, to reduce the size they treated me with chemo, if it was for my parents and doctors decision, I would have been blind in my left eye, and soon after my right eye. Even though I was young, I still remember what happened to me. Every Friday, before I went to my appointment my mother would put a cold cream onto my scar; where they would place the IV.  The cream numbed the area so it wouldn't bother me.I always remember my mother telling me that cream will be cold and I should try not to fidget as she put it on me. Then my mother would take to Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois.

I had the best doctors in the world, Dr. Stefani and Dr. Hiani. They both were smaller, older Indian men. Their accents always made me happy, hearing their voices made me comfortable to be there. There was this one boy who used to be there during my appointments as well; we would play together while waiting to get our chemo, his name was Cole and he had leukemia, he had the brightest blue eyes I've ever seen. There was this one women who worked there, her name was Nancy and she was there when ever I was. She would check me in so the doctors knew I was there. She grew to know my story over the years I was there. I wasn't like most kids there getting treatment, we all had our reasons but, mine was truly different.

I've gone through so much ever since the day they found out about my tumor. Even though the chemotherapy treatments are all over, my visits and evaluations are never over. All of the MRIs and all of the anesthetic I was placed under gave my even more disorders I began with. All the treatments changed my mental ability and my physical appearance, I developed ADD, ADHD, and a learning disability; after my chemo my teeth were so messed up, I had to be “knocked out” (with even more anesthetics) to fix my teeth; and yes, I was only four when this happened so I obviously had ways to go to lose teeth and develop more but, since they were so messed up my family and doctors decided to fix them to avoid even more problems as I grew older.

As the years go by, I am being constantly reminded of what happened whether it's my family or  my doctors. They always tell me how far I've come ever since my last MRI (which was about five years ago) they believe that the tumor won't grow anymore and thankfully I don't have to go to the hospital for my checkups anymore, instead I go to my eye doctor and they run over twenty tests on me to make sure nothing's wrong.

Now that I'm sixteen, I know how to deal with most medical stuff more than any other teenager my age, I know how grateful I should be with the health condition I'm in and I know how scary going through something like this can be, without the support of my family and my doctors, I wouldn't be as strong and brave as I am today, even with the tumor still being there, and the slightest possibility that it can grow again, I know to never use it as an excuse, rather than a push to try harder. What happened to me when I was a toddler made me who I am today and I wouldn't change it for the world.