A young warrior shares her
experiences
of fighting cancer through poetry
Terra
started writing poetry almost as soon as she could hold a pencil, but
she never thought of it as a talent – just a fun way to think about
her feelings. Then, she was diagnosed with cancer.
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.
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."
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.
To
read other stories about Texas Children's patients, visit
Kids Courageous.
Terra
started writing poetry almost as soon as she could hold a pencil, but
she never thought of it as a talent – just a fun way to think about
her feelings. Then, she was diagnosed with cancer. 