In June, I will be going to see a fertility specialist and get another MRI. I have to get an MRI to make sure my tumor has not grown and see a specialist so I can know my chances of having kids. I am very nervous for my appointment with my fertility specialist because I do not want to hear that I am not able to have kids. I have not decided on whether or not I will freeze my eggs because that is such a hard decision to make. I will also be having surgery to remove my tumor on my left ovary and I am hoping to make that appointment sometime in June as well.
I will make sure to write about how my appointments goes when I go to them in June!
Friday, April 24, 2015
Freshman Year at Bowling Green State University
On August 28th, I applied to do the Disney College Program for my spring semester of my freshman year. On October 10th, I found out I had a tumor on my ovaries and I thought my life had ended. My doctor reassured me that she believed the tumor wasn't cancerous and all I would need was surgery. On October 11th, I found out I was accepted into the program and I started to have hope. I knew that this little bump in the road was only temporary and in a couple weeks I would be able to go back to school and finish off my first semester of school and then go to Disney in the spring. I had it all planned out. Two weeks of school work would be a piece of cake to make up.
On October 28th, when I got the dreadful news that I in fact had cancer, I knew school was out of the picture. So was Disney. There was no way I could make up a semester's worth of school work and plan on going to Disney the start of my next semester. I had lost hope.
But with the help of my family, friends, teachers, doctor, and guidance councilor, I was able to achieve what I once thought was impossible. My doctor set up my treatment plan so I would be done in time to go to Disney and my school worked with me so I could still try to finish up my first semester and not have to drop out.
I was taking six classes my first semester. I was able to finish three of them by the end of the semester. My English class I had to drop and my professors for my other two classes gave me to the end of the year to make up my work.
While in Disney I decided to take two online classes. One was my English class and the other one was a class for my major. I also was going to finish up the two classes I couldn't do last semester. So I was technically taking 4 classes! I didn't think I was going to be able to do it. It was too much work plus with my health and Disney I thought I was biting off more than I could chew!
Well I am proud to say with one week left in my first year of college, I was able to pass my English class and pass ALL five papers that were due. AND complete ALL of my classwork from last semester. I still have one more week left in my other class but I am so proud of myself. I have beat the odds and I don't have to retake my freshman year.
I never wanted cancer to ruin my life. Even though I am not your average teenager, I still wanted to be. I am sad I missed out on most of my freshman year...but I am happy that I am going to be able to move on and be a Sophomore when I start school in the fall!
On October 28th, when I got the dreadful news that I in fact had cancer, I knew school was out of the picture. So was Disney. There was no way I could make up a semester's worth of school work and plan on going to Disney the start of my next semester. I had lost hope.
But with the help of my family, friends, teachers, doctor, and guidance councilor, I was able to achieve what I once thought was impossible. My doctor set up my treatment plan so I would be done in time to go to Disney and my school worked with me so I could still try to finish up my first semester and not have to drop out.
I was taking six classes my first semester. I was able to finish three of them by the end of the semester. My English class I had to drop and my professors for my other two classes gave me to the end of the year to make up my work.
While in Disney I decided to take two online classes. One was my English class and the other one was a class for my major. I also was going to finish up the two classes I couldn't do last semester. So I was technically taking 4 classes! I didn't think I was going to be able to do it. It was too much work plus with my health and Disney I thought I was biting off more than I could chew!
Well I am proud to say with one week left in my first year of college, I was able to pass my English class and pass ALL five papers that were due. AND complete ALL of my classwork from last semester. I still have one more week left in my other class but I am so proud of myself. I have beat the odds and I don't have to retake my freshman year.
I never wanted cancer to ruin my life. Even though I am not your average teenager, I still wanted to be. I am sad I missed out on most of my freshman year...but I am happy that I am going to be able to move on and be a Sophomore when I start school in the fall!
My Health and Disney
I am so happy and blessed that I have been able to do this amazing opportunity. I do wish I would have waited until I wasn't sick because working for Disney puts a lot of stress on my body. I have been to the hospital twice since I was down here and I am currently trying to fight off being sick right now. My managers have been really helpful and have worked with me during all of this. It is hard trying to go to work while I am still weak from all of my treatments.
I thought as soon as I was done, my body would bounce right back to normal. I didn't take in to consideration all of the things chemo does to your body. It is a medicine, but it is still harmful. I am starting to see all of the side effects and it is starting to take a toll on me. The biggest one is my memory loss. I have a hard time remembering stuff even conversations that happened 10 minutes ago. My blood count is still pretty low and I am having a hard time with my breathing.
It is hard going to work everyday with all of these pains, but I am not a quitter. I am a fighter and I plan on sticking it out until my program ends on May 29th. Just one more month to go!
I thought as soon as I was done, my body would bounce right back to normal. I didn't take in to consideration all of the things chemo does to your body. It is a medicine, but it is still harmful. I am starting to see all of the side effects and it is starting to take a toll on me. The biggest one is my memory loss. I have a hard time remembering stuff even conversations that happened 10 minutes ago. My blood count is still pretty low and I am having a hard time with my breathing.
It is hard going to work everyday with all of these pains, but I am not a quitter. I am a fighter and I plan on sticking it out until my program ends on May 29th. Just one more month to go!
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| Florida Hospital |
Cancer Free: March 24th 2015
So I know earlier on in the year I posted about being cancer free...well I wasn't really. I had to wait until March to get another MRI to make sure a tumor I had hasn't grown or shown any signs of cancer. Well on March 24th, 2014 I got the news that I was cancer free and that the tumor has not grown which is such good news! I was so excited and I celebrated in Disney as soon as I got back. I am so happy to be cancer free and I will remember this day for the rest of my life.
Holidays at Disney
So I spent Easter away from my family for the first time EVER. It was so weird. Although I had the day off, I still wish I was home. I spent the day with one of my friends and we went to dinner with her roommate later on that night. I could never imagine being away from my family for Christmas or Thanksgiving, so I am so glad I am not doing the fall program! Easter was tough, but those holidays would be worse.
The crowd level on Easter Sunday was not bad at all. I was expecting it to be much worse. However the days following Easter were HORRIBLE. It was so crowded. I definitely would recommend avoiding coming to Disney during holidays and Spring Break because it is hot and busy. Wait times were over 2 hrs for some of Disney's popular rides. That is just insane to me. I am just happy that next Easter I will be able to spend it with my family. :)
The crowd level on Easter Sunday was not bad at all. I was expecting it to be much worse. However the days following Easter were HORRIBLE. It was so crowded. I definitely would recommend avoiding coming to Disney during holidays and Spring Break because it is hot and busy. Wait times were over 2 hrs for some of Disney's popular rides. That is just insane to me. I am just happy that next Easter I will be able to spend it with my family. :)
Disney College Program
A lot has happened to me since I last wrote about this program. I have met so many amazing friends and people. I can not imagine leaving any of them.
I will start off with character performer auditions and my program extension. I sadly did not get an email regarding character performing so I am assuming it is a not for me. Although I am sad I would not have been able to accept this role even if I was offered it. I also can no longer accept my offer to extend my program until July 30th. I have to go home for medical things. I am thinking about applying for the program again after I graduate college assuming I don't have a job.
Work has been amazing! I love all of my managers, coordinators, and fellow cast members. My managers have been so nice and accommodating with me and have made sure I felt safe in everyway. I am going to miss working at Animal Kingdom so much but I know it will be nice to be home and with family. I work in Merchandise in Asia and I have two different jobs. One is being a merchandiser/greeter/merchantainer and the other is floor stocking. When I am doing my first job I am ringing up guests, answering questions, and interacting with our merchandise and bringing the items to life. When I am floor stock, I am making sure that our stores and carts are show ready and restocking all the items that are needed.
FRIENDS. One thing that Disney never tells you about are all of the lifelong friends that you will meet. I have so many friends that I plan on having for the rest of my life. Some I have even told are going to be my bridesmaids. They have no choice! Haha. I have made so many memories with people and I am so thankful for that.
Memories. I have been able to do and experience so much on this program. I have gone to Universal, which I haven't been able to do before! And I was able to go see the ACTUAL carriage used in the new Cinderella movie and take a picture with a glass slipper. I have been able to eat at various Disney restaurant's with my friends and I am so thankful for all of that. I am going to be so sad with this program ends, but I know I will be able to have the memories that will last a lifetime.
I will start off with character performer auditions and my program extension. I sadly did not get an email regarding character performing so I am assuming it is a not for me. Although I am sad I would not have been able to accept this role even if I was offered it. I also can no longer accept my offer to extend my program until July 30th. I have to go home for medical things. I am thinking about applying for the program again after I graduate college assuming I don't have a job.
Work has been amazing! I love all of my managers, coordinators, and fellow cast members. My managers have been so nice and accommodating with me and have made sure I felt safe in everyway. I am going to miss working at Animal Kingdom so much but I know it will be nice to be home and with family. I work in Merchandise in Asia and I have two different jobs. One is being a merchandiser/greeter/merchantainer and the other is floor stocking. When I am doing my first job I am ringing up guests, answering questions, and interacting with our merchandise and bringing the items to life. When I am floor stock, I am making sure that our stores and carts are show ready and restocking all the items that are needed.
FRIENDS. One thing that Disney never tells you about are all of the lifelong friends that you will meet. I have so many friends that I plan on having for the rest of my life. Some I have even told are going to be my bridesmaids. They have no choice! Haha. I have made so many memories with people and I am so thankful for that.
Memories. I have been able to do and experience so much on this program. I have gone to Universal, which I haven't been able to do before! And I was able to go see the ACTUAL carriage used in the new Cinderella movie and take a picture with a glass slipper. I have been able to eat at various Disney restaurant's with my friends and I am so thankful for all of that. I am going to be so sad with this program ends, but I know I will be able to have the memories that will last a lifetime.
I am still ALIVE!!!
Well I have not written a blog post in quite some time and I apologize! This program takes up so much of your time and between school, work, trying to get healthy, and making time for friends, it has been hard keeping up with this blog! I want to continue with this blog so all of my friends and family can see what I am up to. My program for the DCP ends in almost a month, I have more doctor visits in June (and possible surgery), and I will be starting my Sophomore year of college in the Fall!
I have been so busy but I am going to try and start writing in here more, now that I have my life together. I can't wait to see what these next few months will bring, but I will make sure I blog all about it!
I have been so busy but I am going to try and start writing in here more, now that I have my life together. I can't wait to see what these next few months will bring, but I will make sure I blog all about it!
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