Soldier of War By Myles McLellan
Attention! What’s your name solider? Myles McLellan.
What’s your age? 9 years old Sir!
Do you like your life the way it is ? Yes Sir!
Myles McLellan as of today Februrary 9, 2002 you have been called to war. But I’m just a kid! I don’t want to go to war! PLEASE!!!!!!!
Just then the first bomb went off.
Mr. Chairman, Honorable judges and friends.. Did you know that in the next 15 years cancer will double? 1 in 3 Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer this year…unfortunately for me I am one of the 3.
I was called to fight this war on my 9th birthday. This war is a lot like the real wars you seen on TV, a lot of fighting, killing , chemical warfare, injuries ,pain and broken hearts.
But it is also different……there are no guns, bombs or fires. I had to fight with my bare hands…I had to fight an enemy I could not see….it was invisible. And when I was tired of all the fighting, my enemy kept on attacking me. Not only from behind the front lines, but also from within.
Preparing for war I had to say good-bye to the life I once knew. Preparing for war meant that I had to undergo a 20 hour brain operation. This was the plan, to sneak up on the enemy…you see, the enemy…my brain tumor… had no idea we knew it was there!
When I awoke I couldn’t talk, walk, speak, swallow or move. But, what I could hear made all the difference in the world…I could hear my mom and dad behind enemy lines giving me the best ammunition to fight with…prayer, laughter, love and yes, music. Actually, they played my favorite ..Avril Laveng’s So Complicated!!! It was amazing how powerful this was against the enemy…my cancer. I think that they should try this in Iraq…fight them with love and compassion.
Once my body was strong enough my comrades , you my school and faith community, hit the trenches. What the enemy didn’t know was that I wasn’t fighting on my own, and it certainly didn’t know anything about the power of prayer! This was one soldier that wasn’t going down without a fight! This was WAR!
Each day I hit the enemy with the big guns…radiation. Radiation is an external beam that goes into my brain, blowing up the enemy! Yeah...10 points for me and 0 for Cancer. We fought long and hard for 54 weeks. Could you imagine being your age right now and having to fight something you couldn’t see for 54 weeks.? Let me tell you it’s not easy and it sure isn’t pretty. Just ask my mom, she went off the deep end when I lost all my hair. When you, the students, prayed for me guess what? You were helping with the fight. You helped stop the enemy from advancing. And when the cancer thought it was advancing…Surprise!!!!!!!!! We brought out dadadaaaaaa “Captin Chemo” Chemo is great…. it kills everything , but it also kills the good stuff too.
During the course of my battle, I had suffered some casualties…. the chemicals used in chemo harmed my body. That is why I have no balance, have lost 40% of my hearing, lost my hair and have problems with my cognitive thinking…what ever that is?
There is one thing that has never changed, in fact, it has always stayed the same…and that is…. not a day has ever gone by that my parents don’t tell me how much they love me!
My other relationships with my friends have changed…I would be lying if I told you it has been all for the good, the truth is that I have lost a lot of friends, sure I have classmates , but when the school bell rings , most of the time I am forgotten. I’m not sure why, my phone never rings with invites to come play . You need to know that I am the same kid I use to be, I ‘m just like you. I really need your friendship to help me heal and be a kid again. I would like my phone to ring and have you call instead. Just imagine if you woke up tomorrow with cancer…how would you feel being left alone?
My battle is not over, and like other kids just like me, we can’t beat this monster without your support and understanding. Because of you and others in my platoon, this is one time cancer won’t win.
Judges…you are probably wondering why I am reading this….well when I was fighting this war with radiation…it affected my ability to read and my memory…in fact my short term memory is probably functioning at 30%. But my long term memory , that’s a different story…I remember a life, a child’s life free of needles, pain, drugs and filled with friends, playing, hopes and dreams.
Myles McLellan
Age 10
Chatham Ontario Canada