Inspirational Stories
Ashlyn
acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
My name is Ashlyn, and I am a leukemia survivor. At the age of 17, during my senior year of high school, I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). AML is a rare cancer that affects your bone marrow and blood. My life changed on March 21, 2023, when I got this news. How could this be possible? Why me? Will I survive? These were some of the first few questions that entered my mind. I went through five rounds of chemotherapy and nine grueling months of being inpatient in the hospital. I wasn't able to go on my senior class trip to Disney World or attend senior prom. My hair fell out, and before you knew it, I was the stereotypical bald girl with cancer.
Overall, I am a very positive, happy girl, so each day I still smiled and put my faith in God. There were days I didn't know if I was going to make it, I didn't know how I could possibly go on. But here I am, and I couldn't have done it without the amazing care of all the nurses and doctors who worked so hard each and every day to cure me. It is now my dream to be a pediatric oncology nurse and be the hand for the kids going through the unimaginable to hold.
