IN HIS OWN WORDS IN HIS OWN WORDS

My name is AJ, and I’m 15 years old. Five years ago, I was on top of the world. I had made new friends at my school, was doing well in my classes, and wore a shining smile on my face that seemed to brighten up my bad days. That smile allowed me to always see the best of things.

Then one day in April of 2017, my world flipped upside down. My parents took me to my pediatrician after a week of excruciatingly painful headaches. I had an emergency MRI scan done on my brain. They told us that there was a tumor in the center of my brain. A surgical team would have to see me immediately if I wanted a chance to survive. But as all of this information flew towards me, it only took three words of realization to erase that shining smile from my face: “I have cancer.” one on my brain. was a tumor in A surgical team mmediately r vive. But as all owards only alization to erase my face: “I have onths undergoing i iaation matic events that cruciating pain s with my IVs and evver, as I neared ntt, I heard about in the in the Wall’s grram showed me nd d my doctors wo w uld make in the I felt ed the on in out all the darked me. s orful costumes at d ever yone haad a way, I felt a as g. w wheerre be kids seemmed

I spent the next few months undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy. There were many traumatic occurred, including excruciating after surgeries, mishaps allergic reactions. However, the end of my treatment, a place called The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. People on Hole in Hospital Outreach program showed me what Camp was like, and my doctors said that going there would make my life so much better.

When I arrived at Hole in the Wall, I felt like someone had turned the light on in my life, finally clearing out all the darkness that had consumed me. Counselors and staff danced in colorful costumes at the Camp entrance, and everyone had a smile on their face. In a way, I felt as though I was dreaming. This place where us sick kids could just be kids seemed too magical to be real.

Hole in the Wall was also a place where campers could bond with each other. We all had a shared experience of illness, but that wasn’t what brought us together. It was much smaller things. I remember during my first visit at Camp, I went on a zipline for the first time in my life. Standing on top of the tower, I felt so scared. But I wasn’t alone. My fellow cabin mates and my counselors were cheering me on from the ground. They gave me the courage to do something I had never done before. And when I was on the ground watching other campers do the same, I never forgot to cheer them on ago, while we were before. And when I was on the other campers do the samee, I never to cheer them e on either. We all k new thhat we would have each otther’ r s backs from that daay on o .

Another treasureed d memory of mine from Hole in the Wall l was made three yeaars r ago, while we w were transitioning frroom one activity to anotth-er. We were s standiinng outside of ouur cabbinns waiting for instruuctctiions, , and a couunselor r w waas playing m music throouuggh a speakker. I was s dancing happily to the music when I saw someone else from my cabin who was also bopping and moving to the beat. I approached them and started a conversation. That seemingly insignificant connection through music created a friendship. My dancing friend and I spent the rest of the week together, talking about music and dancing, all the while laughing and smiling about everything. om my opping and