by RycePooding » Tue Oct 29, 2013 12:28 am
My youngest brother had brain cancer when he was 6 and I was 11, and while he survived, he is still fairly handicapped from the surgeries and treatments they gave (high dose radiation to the brain + 13 rounds of chemo). I've become pretty involved on campus raising money through an organization for not only pediatric cancer research, but also raising money and putting on events to emotionally support families that are going through exactly what my family went through in 2000-2001. Through that organization I end up spending a lot of time with the kids up on the unit who are going through treatments similar to my brothers, and talking with their parents, and every time I leave the hospital I cry on the drive home, and I'm not really sure why. Maybe its the reflection of my family I see in them, or the unfairness in life that's so obvious when faced with a dying kid. Whatever it is, it's rewarding, hard and I think one of the most meaningful things I do.