My story:  From the beginning of 7th grade I was always a great basketball player. I was a star player on a travel team that won 3 state championships. I loved and spent all my time playing basketball. I tried out for the Cario 8th grade team and made it. The coach wanted me on the team so bad he said that I can do whatever I want on the court. I thought to myself “how good am I?”. I then tried out for the Wando High School team, I made it (as an 8th grader). I went back to my old coach and told him “I can’t pass up this opportunity”. I left that Cario practice and went to a Wando practice.

I had several practices with Wando and made so many good friends on that team. Then game time came, the first game I had to come off the bench. I went in for Ian, a 2 guard. I was slow on offense and tired by just running up and down the court, it wasn’t me. I went scoreless in that game I usually score 15-25 points a game. I went home coughing up a storm, my parents thought there was something wrong with me. They offered to take me to the doctor and I refused.

Me and my team were at practice two days later and my coaches had a talk with me saying I’m gonna lose playing time. I felt like I was getting weaker throughout practice a lot more than usual. I went home after the end of practice and I was scared. I was worried about the next game so I thought of ways to play without over using my body. The next game came along and I started as a power forward. I played the way that I thought would not stress my body. So the first few plays go good and we are up by 4, our team was on defense and I blocked their center, as I ran up the court looking for an outlet pass they got the ball to me and I hit a underhand left hand layup. I was playing good defense and still running up and down the court but I slowed down my play. But I still had that nasty cough. The game ended and we won.

My mom brought me to the doctor right after that game and we did a bunch of flu tests and strep tests. All of which came back saying I was fine. My doctor did something he doesn’t usually do for stuff like that. He gave me a chest X-ray, and he found a big mass in my lungs. So we went to MUSC Children's Hospital and I got scanned several times. My season was officially over. I got diagnosed with stage 4 Hogkins lymphoma, a blood cancer that was building in my lungs and around my heart.

Five days after diagnosis I began preparing for chemo, surgery for the port and learning everything about what I was going to go through. Roughly a week past diagnosis I was undergoing chemotherapy. I had 5 rounds each 21 days long. This was the hardest time in my life. I lost so much. I lost basketball, I lost my hair, I lost friendships, and I lost my happiness. I was at a very low point in my mental state and emotions. i fought through it and would like to help give other people a chance to call themselves survivors too.

Why I'm doing this:  I am honored to participate in the 2019 Students of the Year program, a seven-week initiative in which select high school students from around the country participate in a fundraising competition to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I am proud to be raising critical dollars for a great cause. Each dollar is a vote. The candidate team that raises the most money at the end of the seven weeks is named Student(s) of the Year. Our mission is to not only raise the most money but also to bring attention to blood cancers like leukemia, which is the most common form of cancer in children and teens.