In My Own Words: Adam Hess
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In My Own Words: Adam Hess
I remember my first few days of pre-school as if it was yesterday. One of the first real projects I completed was a little book called “About Me.” The book was filled with the usual “I have a big brother named Darrell, he is my hero, a big sister Cathey, who I love very much” you get the idea. Fast forward 19 years - so much has changed; so much has stayed the same. I traded my crayon for a laptop, my innocence for a diagnosis of Leukemia. Big brother is still my hero and I still love my sister.
December 5th, 2006, at age 21, I heard the term AML [acute myelogenous leukemia] because a stranger in a white coat came into my room to tell me I had it. After the shock, a kind nurse stuck me with a needle. I remember nothing more until I awoke at Northside Hospital. Here, I fought to live for the next several months. During this time I realized, not for the first time, that my mother needed a support system and did not have one. Mom came to the USA at 19 and has often had to “go it alone,” and here she was coping with the complete and utter gut-wrenching fear that she might lose her youngest son to cancer.
After undergoing a bone marrow transplant in February, courtesy of my older brother, I realized how much I needed someone to talk to who was my age and who I could relate to. We got through the days and nights as best we could and I am still here, praise God, to tell the story. So, as my body gets better and stronger on a daily basis, my mind still craves that support system and I have found it together with my mother by participating in a project called Gilda’s Club.
What is needed here in Atlanta is a place for those who have been touched by cancer to go and be accepted. A place to laugh, grieve, to find understanding and companionship, a place to call our own. Atlanta is a big metropolitan area, and we love the arts and sports. People flock here in the thousands because it is the place to prosper. Atlanta needs a Gilda’s Club for me, for you, for the neighbor or friend that just needs some extra support in dealing with a cancer diagnosis.
On this earth we are a people of “connect the dots” and “see the big picture.” Gilda’s Club is the frame for that picture. So, here I am writing “About Me” once again, to tell you Gilda’s Club is about support for anyone touched by cancer. Since it is a living institution - or soon will be here in Atlanta - it mostly needs you right now to make it happen.
Today I survived another day and I don’t need a hammer or nails to build me a final resting place. I need a Gilda’s Club to build me a future. God Bless.
Please don’t let Adam down. He and other Atlanta-area youth are waiting for you to help build a Gilda’s Club. Make your tax-deductible donation today by clicking here or calling 770-496-7811.
