I count my blessings as an incredibly lucky person in regards to cancer. I have had the good fortune to never have had any family members or friends diagnosed with any form of cancer in my lifetime, and I am lucky with every passing day where that remains true. However, cancer is so pervasive that the lucky individuals that haven’t been touched by the disease are a minority. Although I don’t have intimate personal knowledge of cancer, I have had a glimpse into the ruthless reality of the disease through my work as an EMT, and that experience is a huge driving factor in my decision to join Texas 4000. 

I worked as a non-emergency part-time EMT for a year and a half, primarily doing hospital and facility transfers for chronically ill patients - many of whom had a diagnosis of cancer. I became intimate with radiation appointments, surgery recovery, and rehabilitation, and was able to hear countless peoples’ personal stories of their fights with cancer. I heard stories of end-stage cancer taking lives in the span of mere weeks, and stories of remission celebrations interrupted all too soon by relapse. I heard stories of parents mourning time lost with children, grandparents not being able to meet their grandchildren. I heard stories of families mourning the loss of their loved ones, even as they were still alive. Stories of fighting, and sometimes stories of having to give up the fight. I am incredibly grateful to the knowledge, stories, and advice given to me by these patients, and I ride with the best interests of them and their families in my heart.

 I ride with faith in cancer research of so many different forms, and with hope for a future where access to care and quality of treatment is not limited by economic stratification, geographic location, and personal background.