The Walk For A Cure

Walking. It’s an easy task we learn at a young age. One foot in front of the other. Speed makes no difference, walking is something everyone does. We walk through life hoping the place we are going is more fulfilling then the last. We walk away from our problems and we walk right into others. Some people walk for something different. They walk for a cure. A cure for cancer. One in three people will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime. 1.4 million people this year alone will be diagnosed with some form of cancer. With those kind of numbers, we cannot afford to not pay attention and help with the fight against cancer.

One way anybody can help with the fight against cancer is participating in an event called Relay for Life. This event is organized by the American Cancer Society, but held in hundreds of different locations every year. I had the opportunity to participate in the Williams Campus Relay for Life during last four years. Last year however they changed it into Arizona State University Polytechnic’s Relay for Life, but most importantly it was the 25 anniversary for Relay for Life. Two summers I was asked if I would be interested in becoming Co-Chair for the upcoming year. When I questioned what that would entitle I was told I would be overseeing the Survivorship and Luminary team. When I said I would be honored to take the position I did not realize I would be overseeing my moms old co-workers and bosses. Both teams are easy and fun to work with, even with me being 20 years younger then they are, we all respect each other because we all came together for an event that has effected us all in some way or another.

Relay for Life is more then a basic walk for money. It is a 12 hour ceremony emphasizing hope and celebrating a cure for cancer. The event starts with off with the Survivors Lap, which is an extraordinary thing to be a part in. Picture over a hundred people; from the youngest at 9 months to the oldest at 98, all wearing purple shirts with the word SURVIVOR on the back. The sun is down, the luminary bags light the way around the field. Each bag has a name, they are the ones we remember. While the survivors start walking, everyone else is cheering them on, screaming and crying because while we remember the ones we lost, we celebrate with the ones that are still here, and fight back for the future generations.

Over the years of participating in Relay for Life I have been asked why I relay. Is it because of my grandfather, who has always been there for me, but for as long as I can remember has had skin cancer. Or is it for my aunt Rene, the one I never was fortunate to meet because she passed away at the age of nine, due to leukemia. Maybe my best friend, who developed skin cancer a couple years ago. Or how about my sweet cousin Leihua, who died of a brain tumor at the age of 22- just this year. I remember with Rene and Leihua, Celebrate with my grandfather and best friend, but I fight back for me and the countless others that might be that one of three people that develop some kind of cancer in our lifetime.

On April 23rd, I will put one foot in front of the other from 6 at night until 6 the next morning. I will cheer my grandfather and best friend while they walk the Survivor Lap, I will walk with my team during the Remembrance walk, and I will walk and support my team for a night of celebration, remembering and our chance to fight back.

*Since I wrote this I have become the Event Chair Of Arizona State University's Relay For Life program run through American Cancer Society

My Quest

Senior year of high school I had to write "My Quest," which is essentually just my life story. Below is the final result.

Born from two so different in mind, they searched for a name that matched their daughter’s innocence. In Hebrew, Katie means, “one that is pure of heart.” From that point on I was identified as Katie Ann. Like most children are, I was one that could not be taunted by criticism. I was that child that wiped drool from a total stranger, as they did not have the capability to do so themselves. I was that child that signed to other children who where deaf and played with them, when others thought them strange. I was that child that donated her 11 inches of hair to Locks of Love, knowing it was going to a little girl that lost her hair to cancer. I am no longer a child, but now I have started to understand the hardships of life. I am still that Katie Ann that remains pure at heart.

Only a few months of age, I was given to a 17 year old to be watched at the family clinic my grandfather owned. My mom was the one to hire her, she thought offering the job of babysitting two babies would look great on a resume for this girl. In a three day period I was shaken several times, losing a lot of my hearing and soon developed a Learning Disability. This young girl changed two people’s lives including mine, and for that my mom could not forgive herself. I regained all my hearing at the age of two with many surgeries. Being different is something I used to think was a bad thing, but over the years I learned being different was what made me who I am.

My childhood was as ordinary as it could have been. At the age of three a dress-up doll arrived in the shape of a baby sister. We grew up being called twins, but that is as far our likeness goes. As soon as we explain that we are not alike we say the same thing at the same time, creepy really. As time passed, so did the houses, dance competitions, and my parents’ divorce. Looking back I realize the divorce was for the best, but at the time I was not happy about my father leaving us. When my father left us, mom became a depressed child like person. I grew up acting much like the mom to my own mother and sister. Acting older then I was at the time made me leave the comfort of acting like a child and more as a young adult. Looking back this helped me to keep my cool in bad situations.

Like most people I am scared of certain things, for example needles and pain. A fear I developed in the 8th grade, had the possibility of death. I feared not having enough time, time to experience what life was really about. That constant fear that this thing was going to destroy everything I held dear. This thing was cancer, a six letter word that ruins lives. Those lengthy months waiting to find out if it would come back positive or negative was- terrifying. I learned I did not have it; but now four years later I find out my 21 year old sweet cousin has cancer of the brainstem. Because of its location it is not possible for them to do much of anything; all they can do is lessen the pain. The last couple of weeks I have spent more time with her then ever before, truly living and spending time with her as every day as her last.

Some might ask what strives me; the answer is to change the world. I plan to change the world one individual at a time, because that one person may possibly be the next surgeon, president, mother or father. So many live with no hope, because life has beaten them more then they could take. To give hope to others, will then give me hope that one person can make a difference. I dream of the day that I can walk into my classroom crammed with students, signing and learning how to comprehend English. To be able to teach my favorite subject to students that have a difficult time understanding English as a written language, would be a career I would love to wake up to do. I dream of the day that I become a part of the Deaf community, to better appreciate their world and language. Looking back over the years, I realize how much my life has changed. Every obstacle I have endured has made me stronger, wiser and a much better individual in itself.