December 4, 2024 • 22 mins
In this week's episode of Conversations With Kids Beating Cancer, we dive deep into the powerful journey of Olive, a WOKC Warrior, who was diagnosed with leukemia at just seven years old. Join us as Emily Hernandez, a Young Champion Board Member, sits down with Olive to explore the raw, heartfelt, and sometimes surprising moments of her battle with cancer. Olive’s unique perspective offers an inspiring glimpse into how a young child processes illness, hope, and resilience in ways that will leave you reflecting on the power of strength and community. Tune in for a conversation that will tug at your heartstrings and remind you of the incredible courage kids show when faced with unimaginable challenges.
Kids Shouldn't Get Cancer But When They Do... YOU Can Help!
Visit wokc.org/donate to donate today.
Make sure you follow us!
Instagram: @wokc
Facebook: Wipe Out Kids Cancer
X: @wipeoutkdscancr
Kids Shouldn't Get Cancer But When They Do... YOU Can Help!
Visit wokc.org/donate to donate today.
Make sure you follow us!
Instagram: @wokc
Facebook: Wipe Out Kids Cancer
X: @wipeoutkdscancr
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
This podcast is brought to you by Wipeout Kids Cancer,
Dallas pediatric cancer charity since nineteen eighty. If you like
what you're here, please give us a fall on all
of our social media's linked in the description below.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Enjoy.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Hello everyone, Welcome back to another episode of Kids Beating Cancer.
My name is Emily Hernandez and I am on the
Young Champion's Board today. I am joined by a pediatric
cancer survivor.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Hi. My name's Olive. I was diagnosed when I was
seven years old with leukemia, which is in my blood.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
You were diagnosed at such a young age, What do
you remember about that time in your life.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
I remember like I didn't really know what was going on.
I remember it just went so fast. I think I
didn't like really know what was going because I was
getting so many like just presents from when I was
just in the hospital after like just getting my blood
drawn once and then end up in the hospital for
weeks at a time. I don't think I was necessarily scared,
(01:18):
but like I wasn't excited or like happy at all.
I remember I went in the first time. We got
a phone call after I got my blood tested, and
I just remember my mom became like all of you
need to come, you need to get packed, like all
of you need to get ready. I was eating crackers
on the dining room table and she just came in
(01:39):
and then I remember I'm like, I don't want to
go to the hospital, and I just started crying and
then we just like and then I don't remember anything
after that. I remember we just got in the hospital
and I will somehow changed into my on jamas for
ELSA and they did like a neat like ivy in
my arm, and then I got transported to a room
(02:01):
after like a night of sleeping in the emergency room,
and like it's just kind of kind of straightforward from there.
And then like they kept on running tests and stuff
on me, and like I think two days and being
in the hospital, that's when they told us that I
got diagnosed with leukemia. I had no idea what was
going on. Like, I had no idea what that was.
(02:23):
I don't know what cancer was. I was seven, Like
I thought was, oh, I'm sick with something. I got
it be in the hospital. The adventagures was like because
I was gonna lose my hair, my mom let me
dye my hair. So I remember I died my hair
pink because she used to be a hair artist, and
she died my hair blonde and then she put pink
(02:44):
highlights in it. And I would bring my doll to
all my checkups in my machine clothes with her because
we got matching clothes with my American girl doll. Yeah,
I think that's like most what I remember it.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Do you remember any emotions, like the main emotion.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
That you felt. I remember one day we were in
the hospital room and I had cut like most of
my hair off, like all the way to my chin,
and I was in bed with mom My mom, and
she was like we were talking, and then I remember
like I have cancer and she's like, hm, you have cancer.
I'm like, I have cancer and she's like yeah, And
(03:22):
then I think I remember I cried to bed that
night in the hospital bed. I remember I was scared
whenever they would try to access me because I got
infected on my left side, so they put it on
my right side, and after they transported it, I just
got way more scared of it. For some reason, I
don't know why I got so much more scared, but
(03:44):
I just got way more scared when they would asks
me on my right side and to my left. But
the like harsh thing about that was because everything was
made for my report to be on the left side
and not the right, So every time that I acted,
they'd be all the way on top of me, like
trying to act as my right side and my left
and blood transfusions, like the whole two would be cross
(04:05):
my chest because it was on my right side and
on my left and the blood thing was on the
other side, so I would be more scared. But there
were like happy times because they the nurses made it
really fun and from it because they're the playroom that
I heard my kid's Cancerracracy donated the money for them
to make which was really fun for me because I
(04:26):
made this like pottery thing, not pottery, It was like
it was like sheep and I put clay on it
and put like like a broken vat of vase pieces
on it, and it was really funny.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
How did your family and friends Did they treat you differently?
Did they react in a different way?
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Hmmm?
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Do you remember any of that?
Speaker 2 (04:47):
I remember when I found out the day that my
parents got taken out of the room found out, I
was in the room with my three brothers and the dog.
One of the dogs came in Nea was her name,
and we were all playing with her on my bed
and my and got took out the room, and then
they came in and looking super worried. I didn't know
because they didn't tell me, but that's when they found
(05:07):
out that I got sick. Straight away. I kept started
getting a bunch of cards stuffed animals, and that was
a lot of stuffed animals. I had over one hundred
stuffed animals I got. It was kind of like embarrassing,
my dad said, was embarrassing taking them all out in
the car until like one day like the nurses like
(05:28):
these need to go, like these are way too many.
I got a lot of cards school the school. My
parents were the PTOs, so I was very known at
the school. The art the art guy forgot his name.
He got like this bunch of paintings and he made
one with the unicorn and go all the teachers to
(05:48):
sign it, and then two that were matching some backgrounds.
But then Tiger the all the great kids at the
school and this is like kindergarten to eighth grade, all
the students signed these humongous paintings. So I still have those.
I'm like, when I move out, I'm going to hang
these up somewhere. But I have tons and tons and
(06:09):
tons of cards. But no one like treat me differently.
They just had more care on me. So it was
very hard for me to go to my aunt's house
every three weeks because she would mop dust, vacuum wipe
down everything to make sure it was all clean for
me because they didn't want me getting sick. And this
was like during COVID where finally family could see family.
(06:32):
Remember one time I was meant to go to her house,
but some of her friends stopped by and they didn't
warn her. They didn't tell her that she was going.
So I had just we were just starting to drive
and we got to the stop sign and my dad
called us, and they don't go. Somebody went to their
(06:52):
house and these are like people like who like they
didn't wear masks during COVID because they didn't like think it.
So my aunt got super mad and like kicked them out.
And well that's what she told me. Because I didn't
get a witness, it said, I think it would have
been funny to want witness, but I at least say,
like I didn't get sick because everyone was like super
(07:13):
worried because they didn't know what would happen to someone
who got cancer, who got COVID, and I'd be treated
at the same time.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
So I know people you said people don't weren't treating
you differently at that time. But now, being your age
and your grade, do you feel different from everyone after
going through your own experience.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
I it's like only like a year difference, so like
I'm older by one year than everyone else, So I
kind of feel different because they're so much like smarter
because we are like in our school divides us into
three different things, which is like on level, compactive, and accelerated.
All my friends are incompactive and when and if you
(07:52):
are even in accelerated And I was like the only
one in your friend group who was an honor level,
and I was like a man, I thought I would
get into a higher thing because I I'm older. But
like so I have feeling different, Like every time we
talk about like school work and they're like talking about
X times Y and I'm like we're only on introdus
right now, and you're like gonna learn seventh grade as well.
(08:14):
How do you deal?
Speaker 3 (08:15):
So you say you're learning at a different speed. How
do you deal with that? Do you like go home
and do extra work?
Speaker 2 (08:22):
I started doing that because I feel like I don't
know why I've done science. Probably begun. Science has more
like projection boards, like more boards that she shares where
I can copy them down. I don't like looking at
the stream because it's super bright and stuff. I would
rather have it on piece of paper, all colorful. So
that's what I do. I'll go home and I have
(08:44):
a bunch of things notes in my notebooks for science
because every year I'm like, this year is the year
I'm gonna study and not be on my phone. That
never happens. But so I got these extra books with
sugar paper, which you're white, and I wrote on all
my notes.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
During this whole time. How were your friends you know?
Were they close? Were they in contact all the time?
They check up on you?
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Did you make new friends?
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Like?
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Yes? Because at first because I got second then COVID hit,
so it's kind of like I couldn't see them because
I didn't go to school. But I had first hurt
my back, and me hurting my back is but led
it to me figuring out I had cancer. I hurt
my back. So every time they would come over, we
would want to go on the trampoet and stuff. I
(09:32):
couldn't go on the trumpeting because every time I bounced,
my back would ache super bad. We had this like
blow up that if we moved the couch in the
corner then it could fit in our living room and
we'd blown it up, and we were all jumping, and
I'm like on the corner, like going very softly jumping
because I couldn't, like my back was hurting so bad,
(09:52):
and I was like, all of it, you can't do it,
and let's do something else. So we would do something else.
Because one of my friends, her grandpa lived across the
street from us, so that was super easy for her
to come whenever she wanted. And then one friend came
over it whenever we asked. It was super fun.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
So I know you mentioned not being able to jump
as much and do other things. Were there many times
that you had to modify what you were doing? And
if so, like, how did that make you feel being different?
Speaker 2 (10:20):
I don't think it was many because when I got
like my back was hurting, my mom was like maybe
like like we shouldn't until your back gets better, So
it was like my only alternative was I couldn't have
friends over as much unless like we were coloring or something.
I think it's only like I don't really remember it
(10:40):
that much because I was like seven, but I think
it was like I couldn't like do things my brothers could,
like jump on the cow. Even sitting was really hard
for me, like my parents would have to help me
get back up and sit up. I remember when time
I was at my aunt's house and it was like
really hard. I was sitting down. I think I remember
(11:05):
where I was, but I was sitting down and I
couldn't get up. And my aunt had just had a baby,
so she was in another room with her friend talking
about the baby, and I think she heard me like
ugh and like it's kind of screaming in pain, and
she's like, oh, that are you okay? Hey, and I
like I'm like yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine. And
she came with her friend and they literally called my
(11:26):
mom because they couldn't even get me to sit up.
And my dad they were at a baseball game with
my brothers and they're like, hey, can you guys take
them home? Like we needed to help all that was
the first time I went to the hospital from my
back and they said, oh, you're fine, and nothing's wrong.
It wasn't till a soccer game. I remember. I was
(11:47):
at the soccer game and I bumped shoulders or heads
with the girl and I fell on my butt and
I told the referee thats fine. But I got the
air knocked out of me, so I'm like, I couldn't breathe.
I remember I got up and walked off the field
and told my dad I can't breathe, and he took
me and we went in the car, and I struck.
I'm like, no, I don't want to go to the doctor.
(12:07):
I don't want to go to the doctor. And then
my brother was there and he just like spawned out
of the car. But he says that we dropped him
off at Starbucks, and I said I can't feel my legs,
and he was the one who picked me up and
took me. I don't remember that. I remember I said
I can't breathe, and then my brother just spawned out
of the car. And then we got to the hospital.
(12:27):
It was really weird. It's like we went super fast.
And then they took an X ray and that's when
I found out I had bruised my back my bone,
like my actual bone was bruised. We got one of
my friends actually got leukemia two weeks five days exactly
before I found out I had leukemia, the same exact
(12:50):
type as her. I was like, wow, that's cool. Well,
so we got like hanging out. The only difference was
her doctor's appointments were on Tuesdays and mine we're on Wednesday,
so it's like only for action in the hospital, which
was actually bad if we were in the hospital together
because that meant like one of us had a fever
or like something was wrong or something. But we would
(13:11):
get a hang out a lot. It was really fun.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
So, I know you just mentioned having a friend that
got diagnosed. How did that was that a good support system?
Did y'all lean on each other?
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Yeah? Probably because we would hang out as much as
we could, But like again, we were in different rooms
and stuff, so it was like kind of because it
was like we could go near each other, but we
didn't want to risk getting sick more sicker, so we
would hang out as much as we could. The only
difference was like, because she got it so much sooner,
(13:45):
she lost her hair before I did. The main effect
that chemo did on us was make our cheeks and
our entire face swell so big. Like it was so
funny because her cheeks were like humongous and my cheeks
got really big. See that didn't go away, though, that
still is here because my face wouldn't be this like
(14:06):
puffy if it wasn't for the chemo. I think I'd
been like more flat because my and then my hair
came back so much more different, and I think Kirs
did too. But we did, like we did support each
other and like we would go to the what's the
room called friend room? I brought up the rooms caught
(14:26):
in the hospital, like the playroom, the playroom where we go.
We would hang out in that as often as we couldn't,
like play with the toys and stuff. Because I think
she was only I think she's two years older than
or maybe three. But we found out because she has
two older twin brothers and they were on the same
(14:46):
exact team as my oldest brother. It's like that was
a really small world. And then another it was not
it's not funny because like it's because I'm getting sick.
And then another friend whose brother was on that team
her best friend and got leukemia like a year after
we got diagnoused, and we're like, what is with this team?
Like I think this team needs to change its course
(15:09):
and this thing because it's like, I guess this team
could be called Leukemia's Sisters. It was getting everyone's sister lukemia.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
It's like, hey, guys, so I'm going to piggyback off
of the friend did y'all did you ever open up
to any of your friends about having cancer that didn't
have cancer, Like did you talk to them and open
up and tell them your emotions and how did they react?
Speaker 2 (15:35):
So everyone at the school and my old school knew.
But then when we moved to Suffolk, I didn't want
to tell anyone because I was watching Katie and Lexa
and all I could see from that is they would
treat me different and they would act like I'm like
I'm special and need more attention. So I didn't tell
anyone until I don't know what got me to tell
my best friends about it, but I'm like, okay, mom,
(15:58):
you can tell them, so they're mom to tell them
because all the moms knew because they just needed to
know just in case. And thing did happen. Nothing did happen,
but they In third grade that's when I told most people,
That's when I told. And in sixth grade, fifth grade,
grader six in the middle kind of is when I
(16:19):
started like opening up more. And then there was an
accident where some people did find out, and then a
bunch of people knew, and then some people didn't know
because I remember I told people on the first day
of school. In my ELA class, we were playing two
truths in a I so I'm like, this perfect moment
to tell everyone. I'm like, Okay, I had cancer, I
(16:42):
have twelve dogs, or I had a fish that my
mom killed. Everyone chose cancer, and like you know, or
some people chose cancer and some people chose the twelve dogs. Yeah,
and then my teacher and we sent up and like
say what I had and stuff. And then like I
think most people like forgot, but then like there was
an incident where some girls found out because we were
(17:05):
talking about it in the library. And then, uh, I
remember Thanksgiving, you were saying what we were thankful for,
and I was like, thank youful for the doctors and
nurses that stay given though it's Thanksgiving. And then I
hear this girl or they're whispering and they look at me,
and then this girl looks and like really surprised. You're
like you had cancer? Yeah, I was like okay, and
(17:28):
like it just really dropped. That's but then sixth grades
when I'm like telling everybody, he like, it just comes
up in conversations like you know what cancer. They're like what,
They're like, do you still have it? I'm like, no, no,
I don't still have it, thank you very much.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
So I know you got diagnosed at a really young
age and you might have not comprehended what it was.
What was your thought process when you finally were like, Wow,
I'm living with cancer, this is a real thing.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
I think I was. Yeah, I was young. I think
I was like, Okay, I'm gonna be okay. Everyone's saying
I'm gonna make it because the type I had was
really easy to be better really quickly, so it was
like one hundred percent, but like a still thinking, like
I think it was like a ninety percent chance I
was gonna be okay, Like still a ten percent could
have still like happened. I remember, I like, I think
(18:23):
I was scared because when I thought of cancer, I
guess I thought of people like dying. I guess because
I've never really actually knew what cancer was until like
people would explain it to me, and Katylexa kept him
like I was talking about like how they could have
died and stuff because like last season, Katian Lexa Kitties like,
(18:44):
I didn't think I would be able to have this
very moment. I didn't think me and you would be
here today, but I didn't think we would be graduating
next year. So I'm like, wow, how so I think
that's what everybody like was worried about. But I didn't
think that. I think I was like just scared. I
knew I was gonna be okay. Like I didn't think
(19:07):
anything because everyone was like, You're okay. The only like
scary parts were like when I really didn't feel really
good or when I would have an allergic reaction. I
only had, like the most scarious allergic reaction was was
I got poisoned once by the medicine. My mom thought
I was having a stroke, No, a stroke, what is
(19:29):
it called a seizure. We were in the car and
I just started getting really tired and it started. I
started I couldn't talk, and Slaver just came down my
mouth and I couldn't talk, and my brother's like snapping
at me, clapping like stay awake, stay awake. We drove
(19:50):
twenty minutes to Children's and I remember I was in
the square room and everyone was running around and they
put the cream and accessed me really fast. And then
I woke up in like this machine thing and they
were scanning my body. But it just figured out like
the medicine had got into my brain. But I was
totally I was gonna be okay. That was like probably
(20:12):
the scariest moment, and then I finally got my like
way to speak back quickly because I was really I was.
I'm super lucky that that wasn't permanent for me not
to be able to speak or talk. One I had
this best friend. He was my brother's coach, and we
(20:33):
played this game Tag a lot. It would be like Tag,
You're tech tack Ta Tack Tack until it would like
tag and then I would run to the car and
they're like, you're it. He came straight from the game,
like he missed the game. He's like, you are in charge.
I'm going this year and he community stayed for like
three hours, I think, but then he did leave, and
then I strike in my uh wist back playing tag
(20:56):
with him and it was really fun and I'm like
super lucky, like people would come out because I know
a lot of people, Like I think it was like
during the middle of the day because I didn't go
to school. I think it was a Saturday or I
think I don't remember, but I just remember being really
scared and like the scary moments, but I knew, like
(21:17):
nothing like would bad would happen because I knew I
would be okay.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
And your story is very empowering the way you talk
about it. Going through something so dark, you just bring
so much light to it when you talk about it,
And it's really nice to hear. What is some advice
because you were diagnosed at such a young age, what
is some advice you would have for someone maybe the
same age or younger or older going through the same thing.
(21:43):
What would you want to hear at the time that
you were diagnosed.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Well, I really wanted to hear is You'll be okay.
It's very scary at most times, it's very dark, but
in the end, you'll be okay, even like even if
you don't make it, you're still be going and you're
you're gonna be okay. But even if you do it,
and if you do make it, then you're gonna be okay.
(22:09):
No matter what. You're gonna be okay in the situation
that you are in and anything that's gonna happen. Like
when I got poisoned and when I got mouth towards
really bad because of an allergic reaction, I ended up
okay because people were telling you you're gonna be okay,
and I knew I would be okay.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
Well, Olive, thank you so much for coming and sharing
your story.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
You are very brave.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
To be very open. You're very open, very honest, and
I love to listen to you. I could hear you
talk all day about all your stories.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Thank you for having me. It's such it was such
a great time. I'm so excited. I've been writing into
my friends. I'm gonna be on Spotify guys.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
Well to everyone listening, Thank you so much for listening
to our Wipeout Kids Cancer, Kids Beating Cancer podcast.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
See you next time.
This podcast is brought to you by Wipeout Kids Cancer,
Dallas pediatric cancer charity since nineteen eighty. If you like
what you're here, please give us a fall on all
of our social media's linked in the description below.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Enjoy.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Hello everyone, Welcome back to another episode of Kids Beating Cancer.
My name is Emily Hernandez and I am on the
Young Champion's Board today. I am joined by a pediatric
cancer survivor.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Hi. My name's Olive. I was diagnosed when I was
seven years old with leukemia, which is in my blood.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
You were diagnosed at such a young age, What do
you remember about that time in your life.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
I remember like I didn't really know what was going on.
I remember it just went so fast. I think I
didn't like really know what was going because I was
getting so many like just presents from when I was
just in the hospital after like just getting my blood
drawn once and then end up in the hospital for
weeks at a time. I don't think I was necessarily scared,
(01:18):
but like I wasn't excited or like happy at all.
I remember I went in the first time. We got
a phone call after I got my blood tested, and
I just remember my mom became like all of you
need to come, you need to get packed, like all
of you need to get ready. I was eating crackers
on the dining room table and she just came in
(01:39):
and then I remember I'm like, I don't want to
go to the hospital, and I just started crying and
then we just like and then I don't remember anything
after that. I remember we just got in the hospital
and I will somehow changed into my on jamas for
ELSA and they did like a neat like ivy in
my arm, and then I got transported to a room
(02:01):
after like a night of sleeping in the emergency room,
and like it's just kind of kind of straightforward from there.
And then like they kept on running tests and stuff
on me, and like I think two days and being
in the hospital, that's when they told us that I
got diagnosed with leukemia. I had no idea what was
going on. Like, I had no idea what that was.
(02:23):
I don't know what cancer was. I was seven, Like
I thought was, oh, I'm sick with something. I got
it be in the hospital. The adventagures was like because
I was gonna lose my hair, my mom let me
dye my hair. So I remember I died my hair
pink because she used to be a hair artist, and
she died my hair blonde and then she put pink
(02:44):
highlights in it. And I would bring my doll to
all my checkups in my machine clothes with her because
we got matching clothes with my American girl doll. Yeah,
I think that's like most what I remember it.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Do you remember any emotions, like the main emotion.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
That you felt. I remember one day we were in
the hospital room and I had cut like most of
my hair off, like all the way to my chin,
and I was in bed with mom My mom, and
she was like we were talking, and then I remember
like I have cancer and she's like, hm, you have cancer.
I'm like, I have cancer and she's like yeah, And
(03:22):
then I think I remember I cried to bed that
night in the hospital bed. I remember I was scared
whenever they would try to access me because I got
infected on my left side, so they put it on
my right side, and after they transported it, I just
got way more scared of it. For some reason, I
don't know why I got so much more scared, but
(03:44):
I just got way more scared when they would asks
me on my right side and to my left. But
the like harsh thing about that was because everything was
made for my report to be on the left side
and not the right, So every time that I acted,
they'd be all the way on top of me, like
trying to act as my right side and my left
and blood transfusions, like the whole two would be cross
(04:05):
my chest because it was on my right side and
on my left and the blood thing was on the
other side, so I would be more scared. But there
were like happy times because they the nurses made it
really fun and from it because they're the playroom that
I heard my kid's Cancerracracy donated the money for them
to make which was really fun for me because I
(04:26):
made this like pottery thing, not pottery, It was like
it was like sheep and I put clay on it
and put like like a broken vat of vase pieces
on it, and it was really funny.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
How did your family and friends Did they treat you differently?
Did they react in a different way?
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Hmmm?
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Do you remember any of that?
Speaker 2 (04:47):
I remember when I found out the day that my
parents got taken out of the room found out, I
was in the room with my three brothers and the dog.
One of the dogs came in Nea was her name,
and we were all playing with her on my bed
and my and got took out the room, and then
they came in and looking super worried. I didn't know
because they didn't tell me, but that's when they found
(05:07):
out that I got sick. Straight away. I kept started
getting a bunch of cards stuffed animals, and that was
a lot of stuffed animals. I had over one hundred
stuffed animals I got. It was kind of like embarrassing,
my dad said, was embarrassing taking them all out in
the car until like one day like the nurses like
(05:28):
these need to go, like these are way too many.
I got a lot of cards school the school. My
parents were the PTOs, so I was very known at
the school. The art the art guy forgot his name.
He got like this bunch of paintings and he made
one with the unicorn and go all the teachers to
(05:48):
sign it, and then two that were matching some backgrounds.
But then Tiger the all the great kids at the
school and this is like kindergarten to eighth grade, all
the students signed these humongous paintings. So I still have those.
I'm like, when I move out, I'm going to hang
these up somewhere. But I have tons and tons and
(06:09):
tons of cards. But no one like treat me differently.
They just had more care on me. So it was
very hard for me to go to my aunt's house
every three weeks because she would mop dust, vacuum wipe
down everything to make sure it was all clean for
me because they didn't want me getting sick. And this
was like during COVID where finally family could see family.
(06:32):
Remember one time I was meant to go to her house,
but some of her friends stopped by and they didn't
warn her. They didn't tell her that she was going.
So I had just we were just starting to drive
and we got to the stop sign and my dad
called us, and they don't go. Somebody went to their
(06:52):
house and these are like people like who like they
didn't wear masks during COVID because they didn't like think it.
So my aunt got super mad and like kicked them out.
And well that's what she told me. Because I didn't
get a witness, it said, I think it would have
been funny to want witness, but I at least say,
like I didn't get sick because everyone was like super
(07:13):
worried because they didn't know what would happen to someone
who got cancer, who got COVID, and I'd be treated
at the same time.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
So I know people you said people don't weren't treating
you differently at that time. But now, being your age
and your grade, do you feel different from everyone after
going through your own experience.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
I it's like only like a year difference, so like
I'm older by one year than everyone else, So I
kind of feel different because they're so much like smarter
because we are like in our school divides us into
three different things, which is like on level, compactive, and accelerated.
All my friends are incompactive and when and if you
(07:52):
are even in accelerated And I was like the only
one in your friend group who was an honor level,
and I was like a man, I thought I would
get into a higher thing because I I'm older. But
like so I have feeling different, Like every time we
talk about like school work and they're like talking about
X times Y and I'm like we're only on introdus
right now, and you're like gonna learn seventh grade as well.
(08:14):
How do you deal?
Speaker 3 (08:15):
So you say you're learning at a different speed. How
do you deal with that? Do you like go home
and do extra work?
Speaker 2 (08:22):
I started doing that because I feel like I don't
know why I've done science. Probably begun. Science has more
like projection boards, like more boards that she shares where
I can copy them down. I don't like looking at
the stream because it's super bright and stuff. I would
rather have it on piece of paper, all colorful. So
that's what I do. I'll go home and I have
(08:44):
a bunch of things notes in my notebooks for science
because every year I'm like, this year is the year
I'm gonna study and not be on my phone. That
never happens. But so I got these extra books with
sugar paper, which you're white, and I wrote on all
my notes.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
During this whole time. How were your friends you know?
Were they close? Were they in contact all the time?
They check up on you?
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Did you make new friends?
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Like?
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Yes? Because at first because I got second then COVID hit,
so it's kind of like I couldn't see them because
I didn't go to school. But I had first hurt
my back, and me hurting my back is but led
it to me figuring out I had cancer. I hurt
my back. So every time they would come over, we
would want to go on the trampoet and stuff. I
(09:32):
couldn't go on the trumpeting because every time I bounced,
my back would ache super bad. We had this like
blow up that if we moved the couch in the
corner then it could fit in our living room and
we'd blown it up, and we were all jumping, and
I'm like on the corner, like going very softly jumping
because I couldn't, like my back was hurting so bad,
(09:52):
and I was like, all of it, you can't do it,
and let's do something else. So we would do something else.
Because one of my friends, her grandpa lived across the
street from us, so that was super easy for her
to come whenever she wanted. And then one friend came
over it whenever we asked. It was super fun.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
So I know you mentioned not being able to jump
as much and do other things. Were there many times
that you had to modify what you were doing? And
if so, like, how did that make you feel being different?
Speaker 2 (10:20):
I don't think it was many because when I got
like my back was hurting, my mom was like maybe
like like we shouldn't until your back gets better, So
it was like my only alternative was I couldn't have
friends over as much unless like we were coloring or something.
I think it's only like I don't really remember it
(10:40):
that much because I was like seven, but I think
it was like I couldn't like do things my brothers could,
like jump on the cow. Even sitting was really hard
for me, like my parents would have to help me
get back up and sit up. I remember when time
I was at my aunt's house and it was like
really hard. I was sitting down. I think I remember
(11:05):
where I was, but I was sitting down and I
couldn't get up. And my aunt had just had a baby,
so she was in another room with her friend talking
about the baby, and I think she heard me like
ugh and like it's kind of screaming in pain, and
she's like, oh, that are you okay? Hey, and I
like I'm like yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine. And
she came with her friend and they literally called my
(11:26):
mom because they couldn't even get me to sit up.
And my dad they were at a baseball game with
my brothers and they're like, hey, can you guys take
them home? Like we needed to help all that was
the first time I went to the hospital from my
back and they said, oh, you're fine, and nothing's wrong.
It wasn't till a soccer game. I remember. I was
(11:47):
at the soccer game and I bumped shoulders or heads
with the girl and I fell on my butt and
I told the referee thats fine. But I got the
air knocked out of me, so I'm like, I couldn't breathe.
I remember I got up and walked off the field
and told my dad I can't breathe, and he took
me and we went in the car, and I struck.
I'm like, no, I don't want to go to the doctor.
(12:07):
I don't want to go to the doctor. And then
my brother was there and he just like spawned out
of the car. But he says that we dropped him
off at Starbucks, and I said I can't feel my legs,
and he was the one who picked me up and
took me. I don't remember that. I remember I said
I can't breathe, and then my brother just spawned out
of the car. And then we got to the hospital.
(12:27):
It was really weird. It's like we went super fast.
And then they took an X ray and that's when
I found out I had bruised my back my bone,
like my actual bone was bruised. We got one of
my friends actually got leukemia two weeks five days exactly
before I found out I had leukemia, the same exact
(12:50):
type as her. I was like, wow, that's cool. Well,
so we got like hanging out. The only difference was
her doctor's appointments were on Tuesdays and mine we're on Wednesday,
so it's like only for action in the hospital, which
was actually bad if we were in the hospital together
because that meant like one of us had a fever
or like something was wrong or something. But we would
(13:11):
get a hang out a lot. It was really fun.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
So, I know you just mentioned having a friend that
got diagnosed. How did that was that a good support system?
Did y'all lean on each other?
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Yeah? Probably because we would hang out as much as
we could, But like again, we were in different rooms
and stuff, so it was like kind of because it
was like we could go near each other, but we
didn't want to risk getting sick more sicker, so we
would hang out as much as we could. The only
difference was like, because she got it so much sooner,
(13:45):
she lost her hair before I did. The main effect
that chemo did on us was make our cheeks and
our entire face swell so big. Like it was so
funny because her cheeks were like humongous and my cheeks
got really big. See that didn't go away, though, that
still is here because my face wouldn't be this like
(14:06):
puffy if it wasn't for the chemo. I think I'd
been like more flat because my and then my hair
came back so much more different, and I think Kirs
did too. But we did, like we did support each
other and like we would go to the what's the
room called friend room? I brought up the rooms caught
(14:26):
in the hospital, like the playroom, the playroom where we go.
We would hang out in that as often as we couldn't,
like play with the toys and stuff. Because I think
she was only I think she's two years older than
or maybe three. But we found out because she has
two older twin brothers and they were on the same
(14:46):
exact team as my oldest brother. It's like that was
a really small world. And then another it was not
it's not funny because like it's because I'm getting sick.
And then another friend whose brother was on that team
her best friend and got leukemia like a year after
we got diagnoused, and we're like, what is with this team?
Like I think this team needs to change its course
(15:09):
and this thing because it's like, I guess this team
could be called Leukemia's Sisters. It was getting everyone's sister lukemia.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
It's like, hey, guys, so I'm going to piggyback off
of the friend did y'all did you ever open up
to any of your friends about having cancer that didn't
have cancer, Like did you talk to them and open
up and tell them your emotions and how did they react?
Speaker 2 (15:35):
So everyone at the school and my old school knew.
But then when we moved to Suffolk, I didn't want
to tell anyone because I was watching Katie and Lexa
and all I could see from that is they would
treat me different and they would act like I'm like
I'm special and need more attention. So I didn't tell
anyone until I don't know what got me to tell
my best friends about it, but I'm like, okay, mom,
(15:58):
you can tell them, so they're mom to tell them
because all the moms knew because they just needed to
know just in case. And thing did happen. Nothing did happen,
but they In third grade that's when I told most people,
That's when I told. And in sixth grade, fifth grade,
grader six in the middle kind of is when I
(16:19):
started like opening up more. And then there was an
accident where some people did find out, and then a
bunch of people knew, and then some people didn't know
because I remember I told people on the first day
of school. In my ELA class, we were playing two
truths in a I so I'm like, this perfect moment
to tell everyone. I'm like, Okay, I had cancer, I
(16:42):
have twelve dogs, or I had a fish that my
mom killed. Everyone chose cancer, and like you know, or
some people chose cancer and some people chose the twelve dogs. Yeah,
and then my teacher and we sent up and like
say what I had and stuff. And then like I
think most people like forgot, but then like there was
an incident where some girls found out because we were
(17:05):
talking about it in the library. And then, uh, I
remember Thanksgiving, you were saying what we were thankful for,
and I was like, thank youful for the doctors and
nurses that stay given though it's Thanksgiving. And then I
hear this girl or they're whispering and they look at me,
and then this girl looks and like really surprised. You're
like you had cancer? Yeah, I was like okay, and
(17:28):
like it just really dropped. That's but then sixth grades
when I'm like telling everybody, he like, it just comes
up in conversations like you know what cancer. They're like what,
They're like, do you still have it? I'm like, no, no,
I don't still have it, thank you very much.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
So I know you got diagnosed at a really young
age and you might have not comprehended what it was.
What was your thought process when you finally were like, Wow,
I'm living with cancer, this is a real thing.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
I think I was. Yeah, I was young. I think
I was like, Okay, I'm gonna be okay. Everyone's saying
I'm gonna make it because the type I had was
really easy to be better really quickly, so it was
like one hundred percent, but like a still thinking, like
I think it was like a ninety percent chance I
was gonna be okay, Like still a ten percent could
have still like happened. I remember, I like, I think
(18:23):
I was scared because when I thought of cancer, I
guess I thought of people like dying. I guess because
I've never really actually knew what cancer was until like
people would explain it to me, and Katylexa kept him
like I was talking about like how they could have
died and stuff because like last season, Katian Lexa Kitties like,
(18:44):
I didn't think I would be able to have this
very moment. I didn't think me and you would be
here today, but I didn't think we would be graduating
next year. So I'm like, wow, how so I think
that's what everybody like was worried about. But I didn't
think that. I think I was like just scared. I
knew I was gonna be okay. Like I didn't think
(19:07):
anything because everyone was like, You're okay. The only like
scary parts were like when I really didn't feel really
good or when I would have an allergic reaction. I
only had, like the most scarious allergic reaction was was
I got poisoned once by the medicine. My mom thought
I was having a stroke, No, a stroke, what is
(19:29):
it called a seizure. We were in the car and
I just started getting really tired and it started. I
started I couldn't talk, and Slaver just came down my
mouth and I couldn't talk, and my brother's like snapping
at me, clapping like stay awake, stay awake. We drove
(19:50):
twenty minutes to Children's and I remember I was in
the square room and everyone was running around and they
put the cream and accessed me really fast. And then
I woke up in like this machine thing and they
were scanning my body. But it just figured out like
the medicine had got into my brain. But I was
totally I was gonna be okay. That was like probably
(20:12):
the scariest moment, and then I finally got my like
way to speak back quickly because I was really I was.
I'm super lucky that that wasn't permanent for me not
to be able to speak or talk. One I had
this best friend. He was my brother's coach, and we
(20:33):
played this game Tag a lot. It would be like Tag,
You're tech tack Ta Tack Tack until it would like
tag and then I would run to the car and
they're like, you're it. He came straight from the game,
like he missed the game. He's like, you are in charge.
I'm going this year and he community stayed for like
three hours, I think, but then he did leave, and
then I strike in my uh wist back playing tag
(20:56):
with him and it was really fun and I'm like
super lucky, like people would come out because I know
a lot of people, Like I think it was like
during the middle of the day because I didn't go
to school. I think it was a Saturday or I
think I don't remember, but I just remember being really
scared and like the scary moments, but I knew, like
(21:17):
nothing like would bad would happen because I knew I
would be okay.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
And your story is very empowering the way you talk
about it. Going through something so dark, you just bring
so much light to it when you talk about it,
And it's really nice to hear. What is some advice
because you were diagnosed at such a young age, what
is some advice you would have for someone maybe the
same age or younger or older going through the same thing.
(21:43):
What would you want to hear at the time that
you were diagnosed.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Well, I really wanted to hear is You'll be okay.
It's very scary at most times, it's very dark, but
in the end, you'll be okay, even like even if
you don't make it, you're still be going and you're
you're gonna be okay. But even if you do it,
and if you do make it, then you're gonna be okay.
(22:09):
No matter what. You're gonna be okay in the situation
that you are in and anything that's gonna happen. Like
when I got poisoned and when I got mouth towards
really bad because of an allergic reaction, I ended up
okay because people were telling you you're gonna be okay,
and I knew I would be okay.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
Well, Olive, thank you so much for coming and sharing
your story.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
You are very brave.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
To be very open. You're very open, very honest, and
I love to listen to you. I could hear you
talk all day about all your stories.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Thank you for having me. It's such it was such
a great time. I'm so excited. I've been writing into
my friends. I'm gonna be on Spotify guys.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
Well to everyone listening, Thank you so much for listening
to our Wipeout Kids Cancer, Kids Beating Cancer podcast.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
See you next time.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Cardiac Cowboys
The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.