In November of 2019, I was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia. Shortly after the diagnosis, my lungs began to fail so my care takers decided it was best to medically induce me into a coma in which I remained for a little over 3 months. As a leukemia patient, I have experienced care in three different settings: the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the Cancer and Blood Disorders Unit (CBD), and the Hematology/Oncology Clinic. I started my treatment in the ICU and in order for me to transition to a normal floor, I had to prove my strength and motor function. With the help of a speech therapist, I learned how to eat and speak again. Once I overcame this challenge, I moved to the CBD Unit where I learned to walk again. Doctors recommended that I undergo several types of therapies until I was stable enough to handle chemotherapy in an outpatient setting, so I worked with multiple occupational and physical therapists in order to regain my strength. As of last July, I have completed chemotherapy in the Hematology/Oncology clinic and continue to remain in remission. Today I am walking on my own, breathing without a machine, and preparing for college this fall - all things that no one imagined possible. I wouldn't be here today without the hard work and dedication of countless health care professionals who aided my recovery. But most importantly, my nurses. I want to be a nurse so that I can help children who have to endure the same hardships as I did. I am determined to make a change in someone else’s life similar to the kind that I have had in mine, which is why affording college is so important to me. I often find it difficult to explain my journey with people because there seems to be a lack of emotion or feelings, but that’s because there is. By the time I understood what was going on with my health, I was already in remission and had begun my healing process. Unlike most other survivors, I didn’t get to experience anything for myself and I’ve basically had to hear my story from other people’s perspectives. To compensate for this, I like to dedicate my time and compassion to fellow survivors who were hospitalized around the same time as me. As much as I would like to say that I do it for them, the truth is I do it for me. I enjoy listening to them and hearing about their experiences. I am still always amazed at the amount of cancers there are in the world along with the several types of chemo to go with each. If I am fortunate enough to receive Eric’s Memorial Scholarship, I will use it to fund my nursing education and become the best pediatric oncology nurse I can be. A lot of people don’t realize how much better a person going through cancer would feel if only they had someone who experienced similar circumstances. I plan to be that person for any and all of my patients one day. I know that there is no way for me to cure cancer in children, or anyone for that matter, but I know for a fact that I can do my best to provide phenomenal care for those who are diagnosed with it.