B E C R E AT I V E
11
bAy Nora AlmazanmaGzirnagce
BE VIVACIOUS | BEVIVACIOUS.ORG
heard the words Hodgkin’s
Lymphoma, the
sound rang unexpectedly
to the college graduate who was busy
living her life like all normal young twenty
something’s do. Although illness was no
stranger to Grace, the cancer was. “While
my parents had a feeling it was a possibility,
I thought I had Mono or anything but
cancer. That word was not on my radar,”
Grace told Be Vivacious Magazine in a recent
interview. “I remember very clearly
out for us.’”
an extremely rare blood vessel tumor syndrome
called Kassabach-Merritt, giving
Grace’s parents the frightening news of
to survive this disease, Grace credits God,
her parents and a physician in Arkansas.
No small feat for a young family living in
day I heard the words Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.”
her hands, but this time, she felt the peace
only God can give. She knew she would be
OK. “I can only describe it as weird, but I
“Actually, the only fear I had was losing my
hair. God gave to me a feeling of complete
peace in my heart. It was hard to explain,
but I knew I was meant to go through this.”
The journey hasn’t been an easy one.
Grace experienced bouts of depression.
Her vulnerability in expressing her feel-
-
motherapy followed by radiation is admiral.
There were moments when her faith
waivered, and she felt tremendous doubt
for Who God was. “I remember putting so
much of my anger and despair at times on
my parents and boyfriend. I knew inside
I was grateful for all that they were doing
to help me, I just didn’t express it well. I
stopped reading my devotions,” Grace explained.
“Having cancer is waking up every
morning and grasping the reality that
nothing is the same. It is knowing you have
to go through all this stuff whether you
want to or not.”
Chemo days were rough. Grace couldn’t
watch TV or read because of the nausea.
With her mother’s encouragement, she
turned to jewelry-making. “I had gained
weight (some people lose, and some people
gain weight from chemo). I felt exhausted
and was losing my hair. I felt so
was at an all time low.” Grace believes God
changed her perspective. “The sadness was
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