Beauty within the pain
Ruth Gonzalez
August 04, 2007
For most of us, we sometimes tend to take life for granted. I must confess that I did the same thing. Many times, I never felt satisfied with all of the blessings I had, because I was so consumed in the negative aspect of everything that I felt my life as of no good use. But that was about to change.
This whole thing started one night in early May, in where I was watching Anderson Cooper 360 on CNN. Later on there was a segment on Miles Levin, an 18 year old teen from Michigan who has rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare pediatric cancer that’s commonly found in children. Before this all came to be, Miles was a fun loving, carefree teen who seemed to have it all: attending to an elite school, wonderful family, a girlfriend, and then some. It would seem that he had his life planned out for him, a success story in the making.
That would soon change when one summer day in 2005; Miles was rushed to the hospital with a horrible pain in his abdomen. While waiting impatiently, he overheard a technician mentioning his name and the x-ray taken earlier.
It looks like lymphoma to me.” The technician said
Well there goes the movie date, he says later.
Since then, Miles has been in and out of hospitals and receiving treatment for the cancer, which by now has invade the body in a vicious way. So the family started to blog there experiences. First his mother, then his father, and finally Miles wrote down his feelings, his thoughts of what is the meaning of life, and so on. Through the maze of chemotherapy treatments, his scene of humor is still intact, even when the cancer made him weaker or throwing up but at the same time laughing since his father is on the phone, to which the nurse tells him that Miles is busy and can’t come to the phone now.
When one looks at Miles, he might look like a monk with his shiny bald head and great poetic wisdom (he to me looks like the Dalai Lama’s stunt double) What draws me to him might be in his light breathy voice, which has gone weak from the cancer, but nevertheless clear as day. Thousands of people read his blog and are sure to be amazed and inspired by his battle.
For me, this has changed me in so many ways that I can’t explain. That when faced with an obstacle, never give in to despair, which his saying “Keep fighting, and stop struggling.” To never take life for granted, and be thankful for the things you have. Probably the greatest lesson he has taught me is to never look back, but to go forward with your life, even if it hurts. I can not imagine how he can have so much wisdom, when his life is coming to an end.
Of course, my heart breaks for Miles as everyone is also. But this heartbreak is something so beautiful, that the more it hurts the more beautiful it becomes. As I write this, I have no idea how much time Miles has on this earth, but in the long run, the legacy he has left behind, will continue to inspire thousands of people for the years to come.
This whole thing started one night in early May, in where I was watching Anderson Cooper 360 on CNN. Later on there was a segment on Miles Levin, an 18 year old teen from Michigan who has rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare pediatric cancer that’s commonly found in children. Before this all came to be, Miles was a fun loving, carefree teen who seemed to have it all: attending to an elite school, wonderful family, a girlfriend, and then some. It would seem that he had his life planned out for him, a success story in the making.
That would soon change when one summer day in 2005; Miles was rushed to the hospital with a horrible pain in his abdomen. While waiting impatiently, he overheard a technician mentioning his name and the x-ray taken earlier.
It looks like lymphoma to me.” The technician said
Well there goes the movie date, he says later.
Since then, Miles has been in and out of hospitals and receiving treatment for the cancer, which by now has invade the body in a vicious way. So the family started to blog there experiences. First his mother, then his father, and finally Miles wrote down his feelings, his thoughts of what is the meaning of life, and so on. Through the maze of chemotherapy treatments, his scene of humor is still intact, even when the cancer made him weaker or throwing up but at the same time laughing since his father is on the phone, to which the nurse tells him that Miles is busy and can’t come to the phone now.
When one looks at Miles, he might look like a monk with his shiny bald head and great poetic wisdom (he to me looks like the Dalai Lama’s stunt double) What draws me to him might be in his light breathy voice, which has gone weak from the cancer, but nevertheless clear as day. Thousands of people read his blog and are sure to be amazed and inspired by his battle.
For me, this has changed me in so many ways that I can’t explain. That when faced with an obstacle, never give in to despair, which his saying “Keep fighting, and stop struggling.” To never take life for granted, and be thankful for the things you have. Probably the greatest lesson he has taught me is to never look back, but to go forward with your life, even if it hurts. I can not imagine how he can have so much wisdom, when his life is coming to an end.
Of course, my heart breaks for Miles as everyone is also. But this heartbreak is something so beautiful, that the more it hurts the more beautiful it becomes. As I write this, I have no idea how much time Miles has on this earth, but in the long run, the legacy he has left behind, will continue to inspire thousands of people for the years to come.
Print
Email
