Inspirational Stories

My name is Ashley, and I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) on February 21, 2024, during my junior year at Texas Tech University. I was struggling with my health for a couple of months but brushed it off as being tired from schoolwork as well as thinking I was just dehydrated. I was student teaching at a nearby elementary school when the school nurse told me I should go to the emergency room and get looked at due to my heart rate being so high. I then went straight to the University Medical Center (UMC) and within 30 minutes got diagnosed with AML and received three bags of blood due to my hemoglobin being 5. From that day, it has been a rollercoaster of a journey with good days and bad days, but each day is a blessed day because I got the chance to wake up and fight that day. After completing my first round of chemotherapy at UMC and getting into remission, I transferred to Dell Children's Hospital in Austin, Texas, to be closer to family and be in pediatric care. I went through three rounds of chemotherapy at Dell Children's to help prevent the possibility of AML coming back in the future. I finally got to ring the bell and be done with treatment on July 29, 2024. Although my cancer journey was shorter compared to many other patients and kiddos that I met, it was still grueling and filled with uncertainty. Keeping my eyes focused on the King of all Kings and the one who created me with purpose and passion kept me going day in and day out. The prayers and overwhelming support I received from family, friends, and people I had never met helped me when times got hard. I am so thankful I am a survivor of leukemia, and I know there are going to be lives I will help and touch that have walked or are walking through similar paths. My encouragement to those who are going through treatment is to ground yourself in your faith, lean on others who are there for you, and rally together in prayer. There is power in prayer, and scripture says, "Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them." (Matthew 18:19-20)