CANCER CENTER
Diagnosed at 13,
acute lymphoblastic leukemia
When she wrote the poem "The
Warrior," Terra was in the toughest fight of her young life, but
she wanted to give a voice to other children she saw suffering with
cancer.
"I wrote it because I saw so many kids
smiling on the outside but crying when they were alone," she said.
"Kids are strong and resilient, but they’re just kids."
Terra was an active eighth-grader when
she was diagnosed with
acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Before coming to Texas Children’s,
she was treated by a physician unaccustomed to giving bone marrow
tests to a child.
"The tests were terrible," said Terra’s
mom, Sue. "They put her to sleep, but she woke up during the
procedure. You can’t imagine how horrible it is to stand outside a
room and hear your child screaming like that."
Finally, they turned to Texas
Children’s Cancer Center.
"Texas Children’s was so awesome,"
Terra remembers. "As soon as we got there everything was OK."
Although Terra had intensive
chemotherapy, she has fond memories of Texas Children’s. "They make
it so much fun," she said. "They have so much to offer and so many
ways to spend your time."
"Having cancer allowed me to see
everything in a new perspective," she said. "I’ve seen miracles, and
I really appreciate every second of life."
Terra’s experience with cancer also
helped shape her career choice. She is studying biomedical science
at Texas A&M University and plans to be a physical therapist. Upon
graduation, Terra would like to work with disabled children, an
interest that developed when she was a camper and counselor at
Camp
Periwinkle, a summer camp for Texas Children’s Cancer Center
patients.
"I have experienced so much, but I
consider myself lucky," she said. "What I’ve been through helps me
relate to kids. They have an inner strength they don’t know they
have."
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