Alligator size tears running down the sides of my mom’s face, my dad’s pacing down the hall like he’s ready to run a marathon but it doesn’t start for another hour. I’ve never seen my parents act so upset. I sat on the hospital bed wondering why I’m even here. Why are my parents upset? I sat and wondered, and then a doctor appeared in my room. This could only mean bad news I thought, and bad news it was. The doctor started talking about what was going on to my parents then looked at me and said “Mike you have a brain tumor.” I mean I was a pretty smart kid at ten years old but I had no clue what this guy was talking about. I then replied “what is a brain tumor?” He then went on explain all of the scientific things about tumors and cancer, and the only three words I understood were you might die. The doctor said that if the tumor was not surgically removed I would die in about a month. Although the doctor also said that the surgery was very dangerous, and there’s a one in a million chance of a ten year old even surviving the surgery.

The negative news kept coming; he then explained that the tumor could also be full of cancer. Even at ten I knew cancer wasn’t a good thing. As he continued talking the fear of death filled my body like a fire pit full of gas being lit on fire. At that moment I realized how much life means to me, and how I might not be here tomorrow. I trembled as I thought to myself. Then the doctor interrupted my thoughts, he asked “do you want to do this?” All I could think about were all of the negative possibilities. Then I thought if I enjoy life so much why not try and have the surgery, if I have the surgery I might die, if I don’t have the surgery I do die. I then quickly replied to my doctor “yes I want to do this.”

There was a chance and that chance was all I needed. That next day they performed brain surgery on me. Seven long hours and a lot of patients, at ten years old I survived brain surgery and became that one out of a million. Although after the surgery I found out that the tumor was full of cancer and it spread throughout my body. Also my entire left side was partially paralyzed due to nerves they had to cut to get my tumor out. So after a few months of teaching myself to walk I returned to school. Meanwhile I went through three years of chemo therapy, and about a year of radiation.

People would never guess any of this happened to me. Some might not even believe me if I told them, but who would joke about that. Through my past experiences I’ve learned about the meaning of life, and how great it is to be alive. Although I had a big struggle in my life, I persevered through it. The word cant should not be in anyone’s dictionary; you can do or be anything you believe you can. That’s the beauty of life; you have no limits on what you can accomplish. I was told I would never walk again, but the word never does not fit in my dictionary either.

In 2013, around September 12th it will be 5 years of being cancer free. Luck has been on my side throughout this stressful, enduring battle. I have my friends and family to thank for sticking by my side, and never giving up on me. Without them by my side encouraging me to keep trying and to never give up I would not be here today. My life has been rough but I promised my friends and family I would never give up, and I’m a man of my word. I had rough times, but I always kept my head held high and persevered through it all. I have always had a positive outlook on life, and that surprised many people due to my situation. I just have always felt that positive thoughts brought me positive news, and that it did.

Today I live a normal life, and I carry a phenomenal story with me. Nobody should feel less than anyone else, everyone carries their own story and they are not to be judged. I look back into my past and I realize life is everything to me and I wouldn’t give it up for anything. My grandpa once told me “Life is like a rollercoaster, it has its ups, downs, twists, and turns, but in the end everything is going to be alright.” I lived by that my whole childhood and I will continue until that rollercoaster I’m on comes to a stop.