1 00:00:06,350 --> 00:00:15,690 TEEN PATHWAYS 2 00:00:17,710 --> 00:00:21,220 Hi! You're not going to believe, I just went down to the lodge 3 00:00:21,250 --> 00:00:24,430 and I heard somebody talking about their kemotherapy 4 00:00:24,470 --> 00:00:27,580 and things that they dealt with this type of cancer, 5 00:00:27,610 --> 00:00:31,900 she made me think about you, and I never had, I've never heard 6 00:00:31,930 --> 00:00:36,180 about what actually happened, but while I was listening 7 00:00:36,220 --> 00:00:40,480 to this story, it made me want to come up and say: 8 00:00:40,510 --> 00:00:44,700 ask you what happened and have you tell us that story. 9 00:00:44,740 --> 00:00:50,430 Yeah, I was 17 years old and I was getting ready for my senior 10 00:00:50,470 --> 00:00:56,130 year of highschool, and my focus was completely on parties, 11 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:58,660 just an easy year of highschool, easy classes, 12 00:00:58,700 --> 00:01:02,650 and I got back, I was involved with my church. I've been 13 00:01:02,690 --> 00:01:07,160 a Christian since I was 8 years old, and still I didn't have 14 00:01:07,190 --> 00:01:11,590 a relationship with Jesus at all, and I got back with my 15 00:01:11,630 --> 00:01:16,480 youthgroup in a summer trip in Mexico and I just was really 16 00:01:16,510 --> 00:01:20,350 tired and I was staying home a lot, that wasn't normal for me, 17 00:01:20,380 --> 00:01:24,180 I was a person that was gone for a couple of days at a time 18 00:01:24,220 --> 00:01:25,900 or whatever, and was just checking in with my parents, 19 00:01:25,940 --> 00:01:30,350 tell them what I was doing and I was staying home a lot more, 20 00:01:30,380 --> 00:01:34,400 and sleeping like 16 hours a day, and we have, my parents 21 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:38,410 have a spot at our home, they have stairs in their house and 22 00:01:38,450 --> 00:01:42,300 I'd walk upstairs and I'd be tired, and I'd have to sit down 23 00:01:42,330 --> 00:01:46,070 and rest and bruises started showing up on different places 24 00:01:46,100 --> 00:01:50,130 on my body and stuff and so and my mum said that we'd go to 25 00:01:50,170 --> 00:01:53,680 the doctor and just see what was going on. And so we went and 26 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:57,190 he said I don't think anything's wrong but let's have you go 27 00:01:57,230 --> 00:01:59,410 and get a blood test at the hospital and we'll see. 28 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:03,790 And so we went and did that and the next thing like we went to 29 00:02:03,830 --> 00:02:06,490 the hospital, got my blood test and we and we went home, 30 00:02:06,530 --> 00:02:09,480 we live like 5 minutes away from the hospital and I'd 31 00:02:09,510 --> 00:02:12,390 fall asleep in my parents' room and the next thing I 32 00:02:12,420 --> 00:02:15,590 woke up to, was my mom, she was standing beside me and she 33 00:02:15,630 --> 00:02:18,810 had like tears in her eyes and I could tell something was 34 00:02:18,850 --> 00:02:22,000 wrong, and I just looked at her and she said that I had needed 35 00:02:22,030 --> 00:02:23,220 to get up and we had to go to the hospital. 36 00:02:23,260 --> 00:02:27,130 And so I started putting on my shoes and thinking that we were 37 00:02:27,170 --> 00:02:31,010 just going to go and just drive down the road to the hospital 38 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:35,000 and she said that you need to pack a bag, we have to drive 3 39 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:41,300 hours to the hospital in Utah, it was a primary children's medical 40 00:02:41,340 --> 00:02:44,830 center, and then it really struck me that something's 41 00:02:44,860 --> 00:02:48,280 wrong because we had to drive, we couldn't just go back 42 00:02:48,310 --> 00:02:50,970 to the hospital that was close and it was a hospital that you 43 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:54,480 had to be admitted to, like you just couldn't walk into it, 44 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:57,770 and I looked at my mom and just the question that came to my 45 00:02:57,810 --> 00:02:58,880 mind was: am I going to die? 46 00:02:58,915 --> 00:03:01,155 Did you ask her that? 47 00:03:01,190 --> 00:03:02,900 Yeah and I just said: am I going to die? 48 00:03:02,940 --> 00:03:06,650 And I that my mom was, she wasn't going to say no just to 49 00:03:06,690 --> 00:03:10,370 comfort me, but I knew that she was going to tell me what she 50 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:11,440 knew and she couldn't say yes or no. 51 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:15,350 And so I was just really scared, I started to cry and thinking 52 00:03:15,380 --> 00:03:20,130 I could die and then she called my dad at work to 53 00:03:20,165 --> 00:03:24,880 tell him so we can all start to head to the hospital, 54 00:03:24,910 --> 00:03:30,010 and then she told me that they had said I either had 55 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:32,455 some kind of anemia, or that I had leukemia. 56 00:03:32,490 --> 00:03:37,040 And so for 3 hours I was riding and we went to Salt Lake 57 00:03:37,070 --> 00:03:42,850 and what was running through my mind was what was my life about, 58 00:03:42,890 --> 00:03:47,860 what did do. I knew Jesus and I knew that through our class 59 00:03:47,890 --> 00:03:52,790 at different Sundayschool classes that we have a purpose 60 00:03:52,830 --> 00:03:57,130 for our life and that came back to me and I was like, what's my 61 00:03:57,160 --> 00:04:01,430 purpose, what did I do and just thought I had really waisted 62 00:04:01,460 --> 00:04:05,530 a lot of my whole life and I here I am get and ready to die. 63 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:09,750 And I couldn't do anything about it. And then so we get to the 64 00:04:09,790 --> 00:04:13,940 hospital and the first thing that I saw when hospital doors 65 00:04:13,970 --> 00:04:16,940 came open, when these little kids and they were bald 66 00:04:16,970 --> 00:04:20,580 and they were carrying around they dragged these with them 67 00:04:20,620 --> 00:04:24,140 and stuff and the drugbags, their medicine and 68 00:04:24,180 --> 00:04:27,660 stuff. And I was like, you know, I'm sick, and I'm tired but this 69 00:04:27,700 --> 00:04:31,670 is not me. I'm not this sick. 70 00:04:31,700 --> 00:04:33,190 So you thought about that it can't be this bad. 71 00:04:33,220 --> 00:04:37,530 Yeah, because they had bald heads and I was like, I'm tired, 72 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:43,210 I have the flu, or something, it just did not click that 73 00:04:43,250 --> 00:04:47,600 something that bad was going on. And so they began doing 74 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:51,700 different tests, and I think it was the next day, my friends 75 00:04:51,730 --> 00:04:55,760 had, about 4 of my closest friends drove up to the hospital 76 00:04:55,790 --> 00:04:58,820 and stayed with me and my parents were there 77 00:04:58,860 --> 00:05:03,790 and the doctor came in and he had a diagnosis and he said 78 00:05:03,830 --> 00:05:07,880 this is what we found out, he said that you have leukemia. 79 00:05:07,910 --> 00:05:12,640 And then he, like after he said that, he went straight in 80 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:16,290 what they call roadmaps, and there are different therapies 81 00:05:16,330 --> 00:05:20,610 that they can do like you can do this certain kind of kemo 82 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:24,890 and then this and this, just different things and choices 83 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:27,550 that I had, that they could start doing to me. 84 00:05:27,580 --> 00:05:29,980 Oh, so nice! Didn't he just come in and say: this is what 85 00:05:30,010 --> 00:05:31,960 we're going to do, he gave you alternatives? 86 00:05:31,990 --> 00:05:34,890 Yes, I think there was about like 8 different choices 87 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:37,780 and he wasn't looking at my parents, he was looking at me 88 00:05:37,820 --> 00:05:39,840 and he was asking me what I wanted to do. 89 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:43,630 And I was just, I think I checked out after he said 90 00:05:43,660 --> 00:05:47,570 that you have leukemia, I was just thinking, I'm going to die 91 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:49,640 and I really wasn't listening to what he was saying. 92 00:05:49,670 --> 00:05:54,960 And I was just thinking what am I going to do and so he started 93 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:57,880 explaining: this one works this procentage of time, 94 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:03,330 this one has felt this procentage of time and I knew that my mom 95 00:06:03,370 --> 00:06:07,040 was going to be saying: "ok, God what do we do?" 96 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:12,130 Because I knew my mom is a woman of prayer, like definitely. 97 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:16,450 And just she is just a person that I look to a lot for 98 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:19,090 direction, as far, because I know she's going to be checking 99 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:22,840 she's going to be waiting and seeing what God is saying. 100 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:26,560 You know, just a question is that when you are in a situation 101 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:29,460 like that, do you actually really kick in and say 102 00:06:29,500 --> 00:06:33,030 to your mom what she's saying, more so, than when you're 103 00:06:33,060 --> 00:06:35,440 asking can I go out this weekend? 104 00:06:35,470 --> 00:06:39,960 Yeah, I think like I would look my thought was, look to God 105 00:06:39,990 --> 00:06:44,490 for big choices in your life or for serious things that 106 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:49,010 are going on and other than that, I just kind of make my 107 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:53,490 own decisions and make my own choices. But I knew that there 108 00:06:53,530 --> 00:06:58,400 had to be one right answer. And so I wanted to find out 109 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:02,520 whichone it was. And I didn't know and so they laid out one 110 00:07:02,550 --> 00:07:06,590 of them and they had just came out with it, they just really 111 00:07:06,630 --> 00:07:10,140 used to like two weeks before I was admitted. 112 00:07:10,180 --> 00:07:13,620 By then they had made up so much of it and then they stopped 113 00:07:13,660 --> 00:07:16,520 and they said that if I chose this one, they'd see where 114 00:07:16,550 --> 00:07:19,560 I was at that point, and then they'd go from there 115 00:07:19,590 --> 00:07:22,620 and they'd never done it on anybody before and I was like 116 00:07:22,650 --> 00:07:25,930 ok, that's not the one we were doing, and immediately dismissed 117 00:07:25,970 --> 00:07:29,210 that one. And at the end I looked at my mom, and she's like: 118 00:07:29,250 --> 00:07:31,310 I think we should do thisone. 119 00:07:31,340 --> 00:07:33,330 The one that you had dismissed? 120 00:07:33,370 --> 00:07:36,360 Yeah. I was like my mom checking in: did He say this one? 121 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:40,340 The one they said nobody has ever done it. They don't do it 122 00:07:40,370 --> 00:07:45,990 And so she just felt that looked at my dad and my dad 123 00:07:46,020 --> 00:07:48,370 was like ok, you know, let's do this one. 124 00:07:48,410 --> 00:07:53,310 And so we started and I started out, taking some 125 00:07:53,340 --> 00:07:57,410 pills like 3 three times a day and these pills actually brought 126 00:07:57,450 --> 00:08:00,430 me into a remission where they couldn't, they looked at my 127 00:08:00,470 --> 00:08:04,340 cells and that's where you can tell if something's wrong, 128 00:08:04,380 --> 00:08:07,970 is the formation of your cells, and they said that I was 129 00:08:08,010 --> 00:08:11,430 in remission and that I could go back and start my first 130 00:08:11,470 --> 00:08:14,640 2 weeks of my senior year, do as much work as I can and then 131 00:08:14,675 --> 00:08:16,570 come back to the hospital and start my first run of 132 00:08:16,605 --> 00:08:17,485 kemotherapy. 133 00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:21,500 And they wanted to do kemo, because it was just in case 134 00:08:21,540 --> 00:08:24,740 measure and my mind at first I was thinking, just in 135 00:08:24,780 --> 00:08:29,150 case, you want me my hair fall out just in case? 136 00:08:29,180 --> 00:08:33,520 I didn't understand it at first but I got to go home 137 00:08:33,550 --> 00:08:36,090 and start my first 2 weeks of my senior year. 138 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:39,090 I don't know about you, guys, but I'm trying to imagine 139 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:42,010 if somebody told me that I had leukemia and I'm facing 140 00:08:42,050 --> 00:08:44,720 kemotherapy, could I concentrate at school, how did you do that? 141 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:48,620 And how could you go back and say: Oh, yeah, I'm doing fine 142 00:08:48,660 --> 00:08:52,550 It was different, because, like the first thing that I said, 143 00:08:52,590 --> 00:08:56,450 when I got back to my teachers is, I need as much work as I can 144 00:08:56,480 --> 00:08:59,150 get, because I have cancer, I have leukemia and I was a 145 00:08:59,180 --> 00:09:02,490 type of person that would joke around about something like 146 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:06,430 that, so my teachers were like: yeah, right, sure you do, or 147 00:09:06,460 --> 00:09:10,590 whatever and I was like: no, really, I am serious and then 148 00:09:10,630 --> 00:09:14,720 people's face changed. So it was different and here I am at the 149 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:17,350 beginning of the school year tell these, like you're not in a 150 00:09:17,380 --> 00:09:20,680 school modiate, it's kind of new, things are happening, but 151 00:09:20,710 --> 00:09:23,940 it was different. And I was just there for a couple of 152 00:09:23,970 --> 00:09:28,110 weeks and then I was on my way, before I left I was in my room. 153 00:09:28,150 --> 00:09:31,690 And I grew up, you know, you prayed over your food, 154 00:09:31,730 --> 00:09:35,000 you prayed God bless us dayly and things like that and 155 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:38,450 I was siting in my room and I think that's the first 156 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:41,830 conversation I actually remember, having with God, 157 00:09:41,860 --> 00:09:45,860 like conversation and I just said, I don't know, if I'm going 158 00:09:45,890 --> 00:09:49,850 to die, still I could go back, have kemo, come back, it could 159 00:09:49,890 --> 00:09:51,860 not work, all these things could happen and so 160 00:09:51,890 --> 00:09:54,130 I just sat there and I just said that I wanted to know, 161 00:09:54,170 --> 00:09:54,640 if I'm going to die. 162 00:09:54,670 --> 00:09:58,700 Oh, it makes me feel like crying, it's so sad to me, it's an 163 00:09:58,735 --> 00:10:00,675 incredible thing, 164 00:10:00,710 --> 00:10:04,560 and I can remember hearing God say, like I don't remember 165 00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:08,750 how it wasn't like this audible voice but I heard Him say, 166 00:10:08,780 --> 00:10:11,340 He said I want you to read the book of Isaiah and read 167 00:10:11,370 --> 00:10:14,610 a chapter each day and at the end you'll be healed. 168 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:15,270 Isaiah? 169 00:10:15,310 --> 00:10:19,400 Yeah, and I didn't even know where Isaiah was in the Bible, 170 00:10:19,430 --> 00:10:20,890 I didn't know how many books there was, I was hoping 171 00:10:20,930 --> 00:10:28,010 there was like two and I went and I found a Bible and it was 172 00:10:28,050 --> 00:10:31,930 one of my brother's old Bible, he never used it and it was 66 173 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:34,700 chapters and it was like from now moment on I had a peace that I 174 00:10:34,740 --> 00:10:37,450 can't explain, like I was totally, you know, whatever 175 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:42,070 I had to go through or whatever it was, I was going to be ok, 176 00:10:42,105 --> 00:10:43,020 because my 66th day came. 177 00:10:43,060 --> 00:10:44,930 It's like when you had questions unanswered 178 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:46,800 because you worried about it and the day when you know 179 00:10:46,830 --> 00:10:50,380 the answer it's easier to concentrate and go on. 180 00:10:50,420 --> 00:10:55,320 I was totally focusing on day 66th and, so I went back 181 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:59,430 and started my kemotherapy and like my nurses were just like, 182 00:10:59,460 --> 00:11:03,600 they told my mom: oh, I don't understand, she's just so calm 183 00:11:03,630 --> 00:11:07,740 you I'd get up, I'd wake up, my best friend, Christina, she was 184 00:11:07,770 --> 00:11:09,930 there pretty much, as much as I was, she was there 185 00:11:09,970 --> 00:11:12,920 in the hospital with me and we'd have little jokes, like the 186 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:15,880 nurse had walked in and I still had my hair and everything, 187 00:11:15,910 --> 00:11:19,190 the first time I had kemo, I used to have my hair and 188 00:11:19,230 --> 00:11:22,740 the nurse had walked in and my friend, Christina being in bed 189 00:11:22,780 --> 00:11:24,200 and I'd sit in the chair and so the nurse had walked in and be 190 00:11:24,235 --> 00:11:27,650 with her little bloodtray and stuff, she used to come 191 00:11:27,685 --> 00:11:28,975 and take your blood, 192 00:11:29,010 --> 00:11:32,040 and she'd be: ok, which one is Karen" And I'd be pointing at her 193 00:11:32,070 --> 00:11:35,490 No, no, no it's not me... 194 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:39,960 And so there were a lot of times it was either, we had to laugh 195 00:11:39,990 --> 00:11:44,390 a lot or it's going to be harder and we, you know, my family is 196 00:11:44,420 --> 00:11:47,260 a type of family, we laugh a lot. 197 00:11:47,300 --> 00:11:50,250 You know in the Bible it says laughter is the best medicine 198 00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:52,270 in something that happens to us when we can laugh. 199 00:11:52,310 --> 00:11:59,080 I think about, too, when you said that all these things that 200 00:11:59,110 --> 00:12:01,850 God says about praising: "praise Me in all situations 201 00:12:01,890 --> 00:12:05,840 You know, it may seem really incredible, to you, but praise Me 202 00:12:05,870 --> 00:12:09,790 anyway and I wonder if it's something, I mean, I think God 203 00:12:09,820 --> 00:12:12,180 had a sense of that's how we heal. 204 00:12:12,210 --> 00:12:15,240 Yeah. I had, after my second run of kemo I had, I went 205 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:16,990 through that twice. 206 00:12:17,030 --> 00:12:17,770 Did you get sick? 207 00:12:17,810 --> 00:12:20,490 Yeah. The first time actually I didn't. I was fine and then 208 00:12:20,530 --> 00:12:24,480 the second time was really bad. And I just felt like 209 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:27,385 that feeling right before you throw up. I felt like 210 00:12:27,420 --> 00:12:33,970 it 24 hours a day and it was like pretty nuzzy not feeling 211 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:35,510 good. 212 00:12:35,540 --> 00:12:37,000 So, did you loose your hair the second time? 213 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:40,520 Yeah, the second time I did and like I'd wake up every 214 00:12:40,550 --> 00:12:43,660 morning, and I'd kind of pull my hair a little bit, to see if it 215 00:12:43,690 --> 00:12:46,560 would fall out and I'd be: no, that it's still sticking in 216 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:49,400 there, and I was just kind of joking around. The time, 217 00:12:49,430 --> 00:12:53,040 that it did, we were actually in my home town in Pocatallo, 218 00:12:53,070 --> 00:12:56,620 I was in a hospital there, and my mom had, went home 219 00:12:56,650 --> 00:13:00,130 for something, I don't know and my dad was at work 220 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:04,590 and I was just sitting there and it was just coming out 221 00:13:04,620 --> 00:13:09,480 and I filled up 2 garbage cans full of hair and I, like I 222 00:13:09,510 --> 00:13:14,050 totally was thinking that it was going to be like the end 223 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:18,570 of my life. You know, losing my hair I thought, how much 224 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:21,750 worse can it get being bald, and I was so, I mean my mom 225 00:13:21,780 --> 00:13:24,900 walked in the door when I was doing it and I could tell she was 226 00:13:24,930 --> 00:13:27,430 just like ok, how do I act that at all, how she's doing 227 00:13:27,470 --> 00:13:31,320 with this and she's like: are you ok? And I was like: yeah. 228 00:13:31,350 --> 00:13:35,170 I was totally, I mean I can't explain, I was just pulling my 229 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:39,210 hair out and I was fine, I was totally like... 230 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:44,720 You had, to me I keep thinking were you fine, because you had 231 00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:46,890 peace? You just knew that God was in control? 232 00:13:46,930 --> 00:13:49,610 Yeah. I think... 233 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:51,250 You know to me, I think, I would just feel like histerical, 234 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:53,860 I'd be like on the ground, kicking my feet and say: 235 00:13:53,890 --> 00:13:56,270 ah, I don't know what to do, I don't know how to deal with 236 00:13:56,300 --> 00:14:00,840 this, and you know, when I heard that, I, to me, I'm amazed that 237 00:14:00,870 --> 00:14:04,840 you know, just the thought of pulling your hair out 238 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:07,460 and filling bags up and... 239 00:14:07,500 --> 00:14:10,310 I think I know how God talks about peace that passes all 240 00:14:10,350 --> 00:14:13,090 understanding, like I don't understand, I mean, 241 00:14:13,130 --> 00:14:15,890 because I think that that's how we react to, like I'd be 242 00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:19,600 freeking out: my hair's in my hands and not on my head, 243 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:23,250 and it was just like I was I had no problem with it, 244 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:28,340 and so I went on and continued with my kemotherapy, we got 245 00:14:28,370 --> 00:14:33,400 through that, and I would read my Scriptures, at night I would 246 00:14:33,430 --> 00:14:36,825 read the chapters, and I'd read it because I had to, 247 00:14:36,860 --> 00:14:40,450 and every times when I'd fall asleep, and I'd wake up and 248 00:14:40,490 --> 00:14:43,460 remembered that I didn't read it and so I'd hurry through it, 249 00:14:43,500 --> 00:14:46,440 and I wasn't at all hearing what God was saying to me, but I've 250 00:14:46,470 --> 00:14:50,580 since read through the book and like even in the first 251 00:14:50,620 --> 00:14:52,450 chapter it talks about women that lose their hair 252 00:14:52,490 --> 00:14:57,200 It's incredible, how God was speaking to me through that 253 00:14:57,240 --> 00:14:59,370 book but I didn't see it. I didn't hear that all 254 00:14:59,410 --> 00:15:03,140 and so... 255 00:15:03,180 --> 00:15:06,320 I love God, I just love how He does that stuff. 256 00:15:06,350 --> 00:15:09,730 Yeah and so the 66th day happened to fall on the day, 257 00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:13,070 you know, how on the roadmap when I said that they had 258 00:15:13,110 --> 00:15:16,620 made it up to a point and then they were going to see where 259 00:15:16,660 --> 00:15:20,140 I was at from there and then go on, the 66th day land was on 260 00:15:20,170 --> 00:15:22,800 that day. And that day I had a pulmonary test 261 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:27,160 scheduled and that's where they can tell if it's there or 262 00:15:27,190 --> 00:15:30,480 not, so they took the test and it wasn't there and they said 263 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:33,720 that they wanted to watch me for a certain amount of days 264 00:15:33,750 --> 00:15:36,500 before I could go home. And so I was sitting there and I was 265 00:15:36,540 --> 00:15:39,260 like: Oh, God what do I do now? I'm done with Isaiah, and what 266 00:15:39,290 --> 00:15:42,570 do I do? And I felt like He said to continue reading into 267 00:15:42,610 --> 00:15:45,600 the Book of Jeremiah, and I was like: ok. And I was just curious 268 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:49,650 as to how many days I had to wait and as to how many 269 00:15:49,690 --> 00:15:52,380 chapters was in the Book of Jeremiah, and I still even 270 00:15:52,410 --> 00:15:55,430 didn't know how many books were in the Book of Jeremiah, 271 00:15:55,470 --> 00:15:58,450 and in this Bible that I was reading out of, I think it was 272 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:01,580 up to 17, and the rest of the Book of Jeremiah was not 273 00:16:01,610 --> 00:16:06,090 there, like it wasn't there and that's how many days I had 274 00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:10,560 to wait untill they said I could go home. And so, I just 275 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:14,020 haven't had any problems since. 276 00:16:14,050 --> 00:16:15,890 You haven't had any problems ever since? And did they watch 277 00:16:15,930 --> 00:16:16,880 for a while? 278 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:19,320 Yeah, in the beginning it was every couple of weeks 279 00:16:19,350 --> 00:16:21,710 and then every sixth months, and then every year, 280 00:16:21,750 --> 00:16:25,610 and it's coming up on 5 years now. 281 00:16:28,190 --> 00:16:30,160 It's amazing how God works. 282 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:31,770 It's incredible. 283 00:16:31,810 --> 00:16:35,140 So, what was Jeremiah, because you said you went back 284 00:16:35,170 --> 00:16:37,890 not Jeremiah but Isaiah you went back and looked at that 285 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:41,030 again? 286 00:16:41,070 --> 00:16:44,050 I think the thing that I got from the book and the reasonings 287 00:16:44,090 --> 00:16:48,290 is I think that I had leukemia not because God said: 288 00:16:48,330 --> 00:16:50,910 look, what she's doing, she's a bad kid, and I'm going to 289 00:16:50,940 --> 00:16:54,060 give her leukemia, but I think God took a circumstance 290 00:16:54,090 --> 00:16:58,680 to happen to my life and He wanted to get my attention 291 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:02,940 and He used it by, I mean I was not at all living my life 292 00:17:02,980 --> 00:17:06,630 for God, I was not at all including Him in my choices 293 00:17:06,670 --> 00:17:11,660 or in anything that I did, and I think He was saying: Hello! 294 00:17:11,700 --> 00:17:16,660 And He got my attention and I'm grateful for having gone 295 00:17:16,690 --> 00:17:17,650 through that experience. 296 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:20,660 I want to ask that, it's that, you know, to me I think that 297 00:17:20,690 --> 00:17:25,500 I've heard that from people you've said I'm grateful, 298 00:17:25,540 --> 00:17:28,260 because my life is so different now that He has my attention. 299 00:17:28,300 --> 00:17:30,000 Can you talk about that a little bit? 300 00:17:30,030 --> 00:17:36,310 Yeah, I mean that now I'm a missionary, right now and I'm 301 00:17:36,340 --> 00:17:40,260 involved with the organization called: "Youth for the mission" 302 00:17:40,290 --> 00:17:43,120 And I never went, if you would ask me 4 years ago if I would 303 00:17:43,150 --> 00:17:46,820 be doing missionary, it would have been the furthest thing, 304 00:17:46,850 --> 00:17:50,310 in my mind and yet since I've been involved with this group, 305 00:17:50,350 --> 00:17:55,250 my life has never been the same. I just travelled around the 306 00:17:55,290 --> 00:17:58,860 world, and I've got to see different people and I've just 307 00:17:58,890 --> 00:18:02,430 been able to share with people what God's done in my life, 308 00:18:02,460 --> 00:18:06,250 and what I do, have been seeing people's lives changed 309 00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:10,590 changed through what, what we've been able to do, or how God's 310 00:18:10,630 --> 00:18:14,000 been able to use us and it's just, my whole life is different. 311 00:18:14,030 --> 00:18:17,200 I could imagine that if I was dealing with something that I 312 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:20,300 felt like there's no way and I'll never going to get out of 313 00:18:20,330 --> 00:18:23,320 this, because when you went through it and you know that 314 00:18:23,360 --> 00:18:26,970 God answers prayer and that God is right there, to me you would 315 00:18:27,010 --> 00:18:30,100 be believable, it's a personal thing, I've been through this, 316 00:18:30,130 --> 00:18:34,150 I've seen God's power, so that you live and you're healed. 317 00:18:34,190 --> 00:18:38,120 And I mean it's amazing to see the difference on people's face 318 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:41,710 when, like if somebody that is in amidst of having cancer, 319 00:18:41,750 --> 00:18:45,160 or somebody that's in amidst of something when they need hope, 320 00:18:45,190 --> 00:18:48,070 or they need something to grab on to you can share with them your 321 00:18:48,100 --> 00:18:50,940 story, you can share with them something that you've seen or 322 00:18:50,970 --> 00:18:54,850 that you've been through. And just being able to give 323 00:18:54,890 --> 00:18:59,010 that kind of hope to somebody, it's worth. 324 00:18:59,050 --> 00:19:01,350 Have you ever read my favourite, it's just a favourite text of 325 00:19:01,390 --> 00:19:06,390 mine, it's Revelation, I think it's 11:12, or 12:11, 326 00:19:06,420 --> 00:19:09,330 where it talks about: "they'll know by their belief 327 00:19:09,370 --> 00:19:12,400 in Jesus and their testimony." Have you ever read that? 328 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:15,400 When the first time I read that, what made me think, 329 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:20,790 is that our testimonies, like I could read a thousand miracles 330 00:19:20,820 --> 00:19:25,080 in the Bible and not be as awestruck as somebody saying: 331 00:19:25,110 --> 00:19:28,630 this happened to me 4 years ago and my hair fell out and I 332 00:19:28,660 --> 00:19:32,150 really understood God and I was involved in all that and to me 333 00:19:32,180 --> 00:19:35,550 I think that it's an, it makes it real to me that you're 334 00:19:35,590 --> 00:19:38,930 saying: I know God and I've been through that and it's not 335 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:40,300 a story that I read somewhere. 336 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:47,990 It's amazing! That is amazing! 337 00:19:48,020 --> 00:19:52,700 When you're going to a kemo, I heard that it's like 338 00:19:52,740 --> 00:19:54,080 a poison, really? 339 00:19:54,110 --> 00:19:58,010 So they make you sick to make you better. It's weird. 340 00:19:58,050 --> 00:20:02,080 Yes, it's like, it kills the good along with the bad, 341 00:20:02,110 --> 00:20:06,070 it just goes through your system and it kills like 342 00:20:06,100 --> 00:20:08,990 this is what they said: it kills all fastgrowing cells, 343 00:20:09,020 --> 00:20:13,340 that's why your hair falls out, because it's a fast growing cell 344 00:20:13,370 --> 00:20:16,490 and so they had to kill it all. 345 00:20:16,530 --> 00:20:20,420 Did it hurt when you pulled your hair or just did it fell like? 346 00:20:20,450 --> 00:20:26,010 It was like, like, how can I... 347 00:20:26,050 --> 00:20:29,380 I've died my hair a few times and I remember it killing 348 00:20:29,410 --> 00:20:32,460 my hair and I had to pull it off when I was in the shower, 349 00:20:32,490 --> 00:20:34,860 I just pull that hair and I was like: well, it's time to 350 00:20:34,900 --> 00:20:37,160 shave it off because it was dead, I mean... 351 00:20:37,190 --> 00:20:40,110 And I know how easy is to pull it out, it was on my had 352 00:20:40,150 --> 00:20:42,330 and then it was in my hand. 353 00:20:42,370 --> 00:20:46,400 I think that it was dead and so it just doesn't hurt. 354 00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:48,790 You were funny: "I've died my hair a few times," 355 00:20:48,830 --> 00:20:51,150 What? Really? That's a story in itself, I think. 356 00:20:53,210 --> 00:20:55,750 But I know, that's nothing to, I can't compare it to having 357 00:20:55,780 --> 00:20:58,380 leukemia. 358 00:20:58,420 --> 00:21:01,110 It's pretty scaring, pretty dramatic for me to see my hair 359 00:21:01,150 --> 00:21:04,140 falling out. 360 00:21:04,170 --> 00:21:11,570 To me, I deal with like vanity issues, did you have to deal 361 00:21:11,610 --> 00:21:12,680 with any of those? 362 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:16,260 Yeah, I mean just as it's happening and my life 363 00:21:16,290 --> 00:21:19,310 brought it up, I used to be, I mean my mom, she 364 00:21:19,340 --> 00:21:22,290 she would ask me to go out to the mailbox and get 365 00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:26,170 the mail in the morning and I would just be: "Mom, I haven't 366 00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:30,020 taken a shower, I don't have my makeup on and I was just 367 00:21:30,050 --> 00:21:34,600 sick, actually I was sick and wrong, but... 368 00:21:34,630 --> 00:21:37,160 You didn't know right then, it's just the way it is. 369 00:21:37,190 --> 00:21:42,200 And so I dealt with, a lot of, what are people going to think 370 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:46,270 about me, and I did, like after I was done on the 66th day 371 00:21:46,310 --> 00:21:50,270 and went through those days, I still had half of my 372 00:21:50,310 --> 00:21:53,370 senior year left. And then I had to deal with: "ok, what are 373 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:56,430 people in the school going to say? How my friends are going 374 00:21:56,460 --> 00:21:57,560 to be?" And... 375 00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:01,720 Because you went back to school with no hair? 376 00:22:01,750 --> 00:22:03,210 No wig or anything, you just went back to school? 377 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:05,030 I was afraid to get a wig because I thought 378 00:22:05,070 --> 00:22:09,300 somebody's going to be joking around, and pull my wig off 379 00:22:09,330 --> 00:22:13,170 and I can't handle that. And so I wore hats and people were 380 00:22:13,210 --> 00:22:17,020 incredible, they really were just the way that they acted 381 00:22:17,050 --> 00:22:19,330 towards me and stuff, they treated me the same 382 00:22:19,360 --> 00:22:23,600 as my junior, my senior year, which is what I wanted 383 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:27,850 like I didn't want anybody to treat me specialler or be 384 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:30,120 carefuller around me and stuff and so... 385 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:30,920 You just had true friends 386 00:22:30,950 --> 00:22:35,460 Yeah, I was really impressed, I knew that the friends that 387 00:22:35,490 --> 00:22:38,320 I have, were real friends and it was cool. 388 00:22:38,360 --> 00:22:42,320 You know that's an interesting thing to go over, because I 389 00:22:42,360 --> 00:22:45,260 never know what to say to someone that is really going 390 00:22:45,290 --> 00:22:48,420 through a hard time or you know it's like what do you say 391 00:22:48,460 --> 00:22:51,510 and do you just walk up and like if I was your friend, 392 00:22:51,550 --> 00:22:54,460 do I walk up and say: cancer? I can't believe you got cancer. 393 00:22:54,490 --> 00:22:57,730 Or do I not mention it,... 394 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:01,550 I think it's good to act normal, and if you have questions, 395 00:23:01,590 --> 00:23:05,640 don't be afraid to ask them, I appreciated my friends' 396 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:08,880 realness and going: man, are you ok? Is it ok, if we 397 00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:12,060 talk about this around you, I mean, you know, your normal 398 00:23:12,090 --> 00:23:16,670 reaction, I think, from most people, I think would be 399 00:23:16,700 --> 00:23:20,570 cool and just, you know, not trying to be different. 400 00:23:20,610 --> 00:23:24,010 Because you would want to cry sometimes, or you know, 401 00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:27,960 I'm crazy about you, you're my friend,this scares me, 402 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:31,170 Yeah, I know, my brother, when I was in the hospital, 403 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:34,700 he came and saw me a couple times and my mom just told me 404 00:23:34,740 --> 00:23:38,200 he was, because he had a hard time seeing me like, you know, 405 00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:40,710 in the hospital, and stuff and I understood that. 406 00:23:40,750 --> 00:23:43,800 I understood that he couldn't be there every day or whatever, 407 00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:47,800 just because it was hard for him, so... 408 00:23:47,830 --> 00:23:51,720 Because your brother cares a lot about you. 409 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:53,200 When you first went into missionary work, 410 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:56,880 did you enjoy it, or did you still have to start? 411 00:23:56,910 --> 00:24:01,700 I went with the intention of I'm going to learn a little more 412 00:24:01,740 --> 00:24:04,000 about God, I'm not going to come home and I'm not going 413 00:24:04,030 --> 00:24:07,730 to tell my friends about Him. I'm not going to become this 414 00:24:07,765 --> 00:24:11,430 fanatical christian. And I went and God totally changed 415 00:24:11,460 --> 00:24:15,660 my life, I mean I had a new perspective, that my life is not 416 00:24:15,690 --> 00:24:19,520 for Karen, it wasn't for what I wanted to do, but had a purpose 417 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:23,460 and had a reason that I was alive and had a reason, 418 00:24:23,490 --> 00:24:27,360 that I had a second chance, so, then I began to think 419 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:30,480 ok, I have times and I have a day set before me, 420 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:34,430 what am I going to do with it? And so I could propably 421 00:24:34,460 --> 00:24:38,220 after my second school that I did, there's different 422 00:24:38,250 --> 00:24:40,700 training schools but I just totally decided: God, I have 423 00:24:40,730 --> 00:24:44,510 life because of you, what do you want me to do with it? 424 00:24:44,540 --> 00:24:48,280 And so I've just been going and just asking that question 425 00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:51,630 constantly, and He'd give me some new to do and then 426 00:24:51,660 --> 00:24:54,900 I'll come to the end of that month and that'll be ok, 427 00:24:54,930 --> 00:24:58,470 what do I do now? And I mean, He's always ready for something, 428 00:24:58,500 --> 00:25:01,300 He always had some new for me to do, so,... 429 00:25:01,340 --> 00:25:04,850 I think that and tell me if this is true for you, but I think 430 00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:08,330 when I learned about doing missionary work or actually 431 00:25:08,360 --> 00:25:13,140 trying to do what God puts in front of me every day, 432 00:25:13,170 --> 00:25:17,880 my life became so excited, it's like, you know there is 433 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:20,460 that sense of I have no idea what's going to happen tomorrow, 434 00:25:20,500 --> 00:25:23,010 but I know it's good and I know it's going to be miraculous, 435 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:25,950 I know, I'm going to see miracles and just knowing that, 436 00:25:25,980 --> 00:25:28,850 wouldn't have ever, I think, experienced that, had I not 437 00:25:28,890 --> 00:25:32,170 stepped out and said: Lord, please, let me do 438 00:25:32,210 --> 00:25:35,370 something for You, let me see Your power in what You're 439 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:36,080 doing. 440 00:25:36,110 --> 00:25:40,250 Yeah, I think, every choice that I make towards God, 441 00:25:40,290 --> 00:25:43,920 every choice that I make to obey and to do what He says, 442 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:48,040 life just keeps getting better, and yet there's hard times 443 00:25:48,070 --> 00:25:51,860 and there's hard things, like I went to India, and lived there 444 00:25:51,900 --> 00:25:55,210 for 6 months, and that was hard, but I look back on it now 445 00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:59,640 and I would never take that time back, because I know what 446 00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:04,010 I've grown, so much from there and so, yeah, I mean, it's 447 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:06,480 never a wrong decision to obey and do what God asks you to do. 448 00:26:06,510 --> 00:26:09,550 Thank you for sharing your story, that is an amazing 449 00:26:09,590 --> 00:26:15,760 story. I think about, you know, God says: whatever it takes, 450 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:19,590 I want you and I love you and I want you involved with 451 00:26:19,620 --> 00:26:24,490 a relationship with Me and that He will work with whatever 452 00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:28,710 is on our plate kind of to get us to see that. Doing missionary 453 00:26:28,740 --> 00:26:33,050 work, I like that idea, or I like the fact that you brought 454 00:26:33,090 --> 00:26:37,360 that up, because I think that, I just got back last, last year 455 00:26:37,390 --> 00:26:39,820 I went to a missionary trip to Los Angeles and we took 456 00:26:39,860 --> 00:26:44,940 125 teens to LA to work at rescue missions, 457 00:26:44,970 --> 00:26:48,640 and in that rescue mission when I looked around and I 458 00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:53,960 saw people actually come alive, come alive as they worked with 459 00:26:53,990 --> 00:26:57,540 different people, at the shelter and at the aid center and 460 00:26:57,580 --> 00:27:01,390 and we went to the foodpackk where we were packing our food, 461 00:27:01,430 --> 00:27:05,390 and I think that whatever it takes to get us to look at, 462 00:27:05,420 --> 00:27:09,360 doing service and reaching out, I think I'm grateful 463 00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:13,300 what God does, what God does for us, I want to say 464 00:27:13,340 --> 00:27:15,070 thank you for joining us on "Teen pathways" 465 00:27:15,110 --> 00:27:18,560 and remember that when you're in the middle of a situation 466 00:27:18,590 --> 00:27:21,980 that you don't understand, that you're not sure what's 467 00:27:22,010 --> 00:27:24,440 actually going on, or that if you ever going to make it up, 468 00:27:24,470 --> 00:27:26,860 or never going to get better, remember that God hears you, 469 00:27:26,900 --> 00:27:30,250 He is in control, He's involved in your life, 470 00:27:30,290 --> 00:27:34,620 and then thank Him and reach out to somebody else that needs 471 00:27:34,660 --> 00:27:37,320 that same kind of message, that same kind of hope 472 00:27:37,350 --> 00:27:43,190 and give it to them, share that with them. Thank you for 473 00:27:43,220 --> 00:27:46,550 joining us on "Teen Pathways".