Testimony

I grew up in a Christian home and was introduced to Jesus Christ by both my parents and grandparents. I was baptized as a baby, and went to Sunday school every Sunday after the service. My parents sent my to a Christian school where I started learning how to memorize Bible verses already in Kindergarten. It wasn't until my freshman year of high school, did I realize how important my relationship with Christ really was.

Most of us remember our freshman year of high school, walking down the halls staring at a map of the school trying to find your next class, all the while bumping into upper classman. The awkwardness of making new friends and trying to figure out just where you fit in. There are aspirations on what you want your high school expirience to be like, maybe homecoming queen, captain of the volleyball team, or earning the leading role of a school play. Oh boy, did I have a perfect plan on what my high school was going to consist of.

A month and a half into my freshman year of high school, after I had memorized my routes to class and found a wonderful group of friends, I hit a detour: Cancer. On October 16, 2002 I was diagnosed with Acute Mylogenous Leukemia (AML). Right away I started chemo, and went through four very hard chemo treatments. When I was just about to begin my fifth and final round of treatment, I relapsed, the cancer had come back. My only hope for a cure was a bone marrow transplant. My donor was found on the national bone marrow registry and my transplant took place May 16, 2003. I dealt with a lot of side effects, one being Graft vs. Host disease. This is when my new bone marrow saw many parts of my body as foreign, therefore attacking them. The only way to combat the Graft vs. Host disease was steroids. Steroids unfortunately have their side effects too and my bones got the brunt of that one, especially my hips. I also got a bad virus in my bladder and the medicine that helped clear the virus up was really hard on my kidneys. So in the year 2004 I started walking on crutches (which lasted a full two years) because my hips were collapsing and I was put on dialysis while waiting for a kidney transplant.

A year after my bone marrow transplant, both my donor and I were willing to connect with each other. Her name is Celeste Ryan and she lives in California with her husband and two kids. When she found out I was in need of a kidney, she did some research and found she would be the best match for me, since we now share the same DNA. She flew here to Michigan with her family and selflessly gave me her kidney on August 30, 2005. As for my hips, I had them both partially and then fully replaced. As of right now, I am considered cured of cancer, my kidney is working like a charm, and my hips are pain free! God is good!

I feel this "life detour" was the turning point in my relationship with Christ. No longer was I able to control my life, but I had to turn it over to the Lord. I learned it doesn't work to fit God into "my" story; I had to take part in His story. There is this confidence when I die, I will be going to Heaven, no longer will cancer, medication, pain, etc exist. I no longer go through "the motions" of going to church, going to a Christian school, and living my life as a Christian. I am now living my life with purpose, My faith has become even more solid, I have this confidence I didn't have before that Jesus IS my Savior, and He lives in me. God is all knowing and has a plan for all of our lives, even if its a plan we don't always understand.