Our third #fridayintroduction comes to us from Tabitha, a young adult who survived her diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma when she was 16.
At the start of her grade 11 school year, Tabitha was undergoing various tests to try to get to the bottom of her cold and flu symptoms. She was tested for strep, mono, and finally diagnosed with a chest infection.
Back in class, reading the graphic novel/memoir Stitches, by David Small, Tabitha noted that the main character had a growth in his neck in the same spot she had. The character ended up having cancer, and when Tabitha read that, she immediately packed up her stuff, left class, and called her mom to take her to the doctor.
Tabitha’s family doctor booked her an appointment with a specialist, and within 15 minutes the specialist thought it was either leukemia or lymphoma. Tabitha was admitted to the children’s emergency department, saw numerous doctors and nurses, and had the lump biopsied the following Monday– Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Tabitha started treatment in January of 2015 and ended on May 4th of the same year. You can definitely see that the force is with her!
Tabitha loves her dogs, her family (don’t we love the order she put that in?), folklorama, volleyball, and Italian folk dancing.
Her message to you is that life is short! Get your health checked. Rescue that dog you fell in love with at the rescue! Be kind. Work hard to fight for what you love.
We love you Tabitha, and are working hard to fight for you!
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