Just two weeks after I proposed to my then girlfriend in front of a beachy sunrise, the two of us spent our 4th of July weekend in a hospital room devastated by the news that I had cancer. Our brand-new dreams of long lives shared together were under siege. After a brief battle with COVID, an open wound infection, and multiple surgeries, I anxiously began treatment.
I celebrated my 30th birthday by completing my first week of chemotherapy. Over the course of the next four months, I endured multiple hospitalizations, multiple rounds of chemotherapy, and daily mental and emotional battles with the unknown. In January I achieved remission which was remarkable milestone in a journey that still continues.
Whenever I look back on my experience, I am filled with complete gratitude for my friends, my family, and my community. It’s a truly humbling experience for a 30-year-old to lose self-sufficiency but I was carried through my darkest days thanks to the incredible humans in my life. My fiancé, who showed incredible courage throughout the journey, is now my wife and together we look forward to welcoming our first child in the new year.