DYWANE TAN Class 2A3( 2013)
BEATING THE CANCER, OVERCOMING MYSELF
Dywane’ s story is one of positive optimism.
I am a very fun-loving and playful student. I love my school and my classmates, and I was happily subsisting in Secondary One. Just before my Mid-Year Examinations, I kept feeling tired. I fell sick too easily. Then the big bang came. I learned from my mother that I had leukemia. I could do nothing. I had to act normal because I had no choice.
I spent June to October 2012 shuttering in and out of the hospital.
I was helpless and afraid of the doctors. I felt very vulnerable. My fears soon got the better of me. I refused to allow anyone to poke me, draw blood from me or inject me with anything. I did not budge. They did not budge. I was crying.
The injections soon started, and so did the pain and tears. The social workers and nurses helped me to settle in. To me, I imagined that I was in a hotel resort – that was how I managed my fears and all the injections unthinkable. I forced myself to eat and my mother rewarded me with little gifts to help me tide through this period of suffering.
I was worried, too, about my school work. As I was in and out of the hospital frequently, I could not go to school. A slight respite from school work was inevitable, but I was afraid that I could not cope with my studies when I returned to school. I had no choice but to mentally try my best to get well physically – so that I could go back to school, to learn and to have fun with my classmates.
During my last injection, the doctor told me that they were checking to see if I was going to go into REMISSION. He told my mother that he would call her to tell her the good news. My mother was very excited. I, on the other hand, was nervous and anxious. I did not want to waste any more time resting at home even though I still felt very tired.
My mother called the doctor instead. She was so eager to find out from the doctor if I was better. The big‘ R’ word! She shouted it out to me! I was elated and overjoyed!
I was able to go back to school in January 2013. I had missed out on much of the syllabus, but something within me told me to try my best and not give up. It was not easy re-integrating back to the normal school life. It is still not easy and it is still hard to cope, but I am not giving up. I was used to my life in the hospital where I could sleep all day but in school, with its unceasing lessons and homework, it is really different. With permission from my teachers, if I get really tired, I will put my head down and rest for a while before getting back to my studies.
I want to persevere. I am not giving up.
Our Story: School is where We Aspire and Grow 017