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We went from the doctor’s office directly to All Children’s Hospital. We knew something was very wrong from the office visit, but had no idea how bad. My first inclination of what was about to transpire was when the attending said they were going to send an oncologist in to talk to us.
My middle son, who was about to turn 15, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. He was given no better than a coin flips chance of surviving. I dropped everything, all my work and businesses, and devoted myself to his needs. I lived at All Children's Hospital for over three months alongside his hospital bed. Over fifty surgeries and procedures, treatments, endless rounds of doctors and specialists ensued. I watched other kids die in that hospital wing, and …show more content…
It made me sick. How can you put a price on a child’s potential life saving treatments, saying something is not necessary, even though it could only help him? There were a lot of out of pocket expenses, to say the least. My nightmare eventually ended, as he did pull through the darkness and beat his battle with cancer. Through it all I learned something about myself: I have the tenacity and drive to fight for what is right, and defend myself and my son’s appeals for what should have been afforded to us without …show more content…
I had the idea of attending law school, as I did when I was 18. But this was such a far away dream, so we buckled down and focused on the immediate task of getting a degree. I majored in Political Science, and he in Psychology. We managed to take at least one class together every semester, save our last one. It was an experience that I will cherish forever. After getting our Associates degree from Saint Petersburg College, and getting accepted to the University of South Florida, I began to think that maybe my pipedream of law school was not so far from grasp after all. On December 10th, 2017 we both graduated from the University of South Florida, with honors. I was recommended and inducted into the national Political Science Honor Society, Pi Sigma Alpha. This was the proudest day of my life to date, but it certainly wasn't an easy task, nor one that I ever envisioned happening at this stage in my

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