Our Story

       The present day took place during third grade, where I was simply paying attention in class. Yet, at such an inauspicious time in the day, my stomach began to growl in such unease. Thus, I asked to use the bathroom. The moment I stepped out the door, I began to thrust in hurry, for my digested food only seemed to rise higher and higher. Not caring if someone would notice, I barged open the bathroom door to head for a stall and vomit in the toilet. After that humiliating day, it repeated itself, almost becoming a daily routine.

       When summer break came to be present, there were no improvements. I still kept vomiting repeatedly every day, but with an agonizing headache as well. Therefore, my parents thought it was due to dehydration, causing me to drink abundant amounts of water daily, yet with no improvement.

       One day, when summer break came to a conclusion, it was the first day of fourth grade. At the beginning of that day, I began to slowly open my eyes from darkness to the light, like every dawn of the day. Seeing all the brightness ahead, I went to take my first breath, however, hardly any oxygen came to enter my nose nor mouth.

       "Mmm... mo... mo...," I began to gasp repeatedly, profoundly in the outermost need for air.

       When she finally came to hear me, she rushed me to the hospital in ultimate worry. After they looked to see what the cause of trouble was, we got informed that I had brain cancer, for the tumor being the dimensions of a peach.

       Afterwards, I was strapped into an ambulance, watching Sing on the TV, while we proceeded towards Lurie Children's Hospital. The moment we reached there, we were given a room. Days and weeks later, several surgeries were done on me, and I had to wake up extremely early several times for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Due to the effects of the surgeries, I had to relearn how to walk. Furthermore, I had to learn to write with my non-dominant hand, since the nervous system on my right side was highly damaged, causing my right arm and leg to shake without my regulation. Lastly, I lost my peripheral vision in my right eye, and a percentage of central vision in my other eye.

       During that time, my mom and I loved to play bingo at the hospital, for we won numerous rewards. Moreover, they had magnificent and talented volunteers visit our room to sing, or invite their service dog. Soon, more family members came to visit, whether to play board games, explore Navy Pier, or onboard a boat to view the blinding beauty of Chicago. Additionally, we later visited Lincoln Park Zoo to see the penguins that were shown on our TV, and bought every kid on our floor a stuffed animal. On top of everything, I'll never flourish the actuality my brother shared during his time uniting Lego's, rather than disbursing more space with me.

       "I prayed to God, and God said he was going to be okay."

       When a month pasted, we transferred to Surely Ryan's. There, I made various amounts of friends and had extraordinary volunteer activities as well. Sitting in my room, a magician entered to exhibit a staggering trick to me. Furthermore, frolicking Headbands with the doctor, assisting my vocabulary and description. Likewise, we stayed at Surely Ryan's for a month.

       In the stretch of two months, I arrived back home. My friends surprised me by sheltering my closet with balloons. All my family and friends in and out of the neighborhood threw a celebration towards me for making it back. 

       Therefore, I officially had my first day of fourth grade when the weekend came to wind up. When I was walking to the classroom, my heart was flooding with eagerness to conclusively witness my remaining friends at school. The moment I positioned my feet in the room, smiles came flying at me with heartwarming cards of inspiration and encouragement.

       Meanwhile, I was taking Chemotherapy and had to attend three various types of therapy three times a week over school days, which I highly appreciated. The three types of therapy were physical, occupational, and speech. Each session was an hour long, while it started slightly after school commenced. Moreover, I wore a leg brace due to my right leg shifting backwards. Likewise, every worker and patient were fueled with eudaimonia and enthusiasm, for they assisted me with walking and overall movement with my right side, due to it's shakiness and loss of touch. When several months came to pass, I had graduated. It was hard losing them, just like everyone else at the hospital because of our unbreakable bond. Yet, on my last day there, everyone in the building threw a party towards me graduating. They hung up an avocado pinata, for me to hit down, causing candy to collapse throughout the floor. When I was exiting with avocado pinata on my head like a hat, everyone was clapping, while I tried my hardest not to shed a tear.

       By the end of fourth grade, we were told that Chemotherapy wasn't working. Therefore, we were recommended a new drug called Koselugo. For this drug, I had to avoid eating or drinking anything, except water, to eventually swallow it. The moment I took it, I couldn't eat or drink anything, like before, but only for an hour. When that hour passed, I could finally consume something other than water.

       I was prescribed Koselugo for two years, scheduling the end of sixth grade to be the finish line. Although it bleached my hair and caused me to workout less, it worked. It shrunk the tumor. Thus, when I finished thrusting what seemed to be an immoveable object, in the end... I ultimately extracted that object out of my path, out of my trail. I officially beat brain cancer. As a result, we threw an enormous party, like in the past when I got back home. Everyone congratulated me, for all I felt within was gratitude towards them having faith in me.

       Yet, a year later, they informed us that it was augmented. Therefore, I was prescribed once more, lasting two years. Although, when those two years departed, I needed to seize it for a further six months. During every two months that concluded, I determined a lower dosage, until those months became a memory in the past. This time, I'm honored to officially confirm through those years, I indeed beat it.

       I want to appreciate my parents and doctors for being the reason I'm here today. They are my heroes. Moreover, I want to acknowledge you on the behalf for reading this. Presently, I am challenging myself, putting every inch of effort into pursuing my dreams. That dream of mine constitutes the effect of becoming a tremendously successful entrepreneur in the forthcoming to inspire and educate individuals, for no matter what you have dealt, your dreams are always achievable, as long as you're passionate, transferring all of your effort towards it, and never give up. I believe in you.

From the founder, Andrew E. Rainey