Amanda Mosier
2003 Andre Sobel Award Recipient
The objects surrounding me only brought up memories of a former
well-lived
childhood that would soon turn into a battle with one of the most deadly diseases
known
to man. Thinking of everything I had loved and cherished so dearly, my eyes
scanned
upon a stuffed, white monkey who was named Mischief. I had designated him as
my co-
partner to loyally keep me company during surgery; this decision was based on
Mischeif’s loving nature and his interests in traveling to different regions
of the United
States since his arrival from Tokyo two years prior to my "incident".
Mischief looked at
me with his tiny beaded eyes immediately before he was placed in the suitcase,
along
with other clothes and supplies, such as a bottle of blessed water Grandmother
said would
help me heal during the rough road of testing experiences in the upcoming weeks.
As I
looked up, my eyes met those of my young, black kitten lounging on my bed. He
could
feel my fear and sympathetically sputtered a meow to say that everything would
be all
right and he would see me in a week or two. I hugged his soft littlebody and
wanted to
trade places with him.
"Amanda, a letter has come for you. Are you ready to leave
yet?" Mom said
softly from the other side of the door.
Without response, I briskly ripped open the letter
Dear my turtle-loving granddaughter,
Hello there. I went in for my leukemia checkup again today,
and everything went
as usual until a new nurse walked in to draw blood from my severely bruised
right arm. I
found it unusual that she crept in through the back entrance to the room carrying
a needle
so large that the only thing coming close to its size would be the entire state
of Texas. I
told the rather horrific nurse that such a needle would surely be of no use
to my tiny,
withered veins, but she just cocked her head back and cackled in response to
my
proposition. She slowly approached the blood-drawing chair I was sitting in
and whipped
out a roll of medical tape. She then ran up to me and tied me down in the chair,
restraining my arms, legs, torso, and my mouth. I struggled to set myself free;
I
continually attempted to kick her while she tied up my arms. My attempts were
no use
and caused the nurse to become even more conniving. At this instance, I believed
that
there was no way to escape. The nurse blew the red whistle hung around her neck
three
times as if to signal for backup. Looking around the chair for something to
defend myself
with, I could not even find a plastic knife. Suddenly, the other three doors
in the room
slowly squeaked ajar, and a group of the most grotesque monsters you would ever
imagine came wobbling out toward the chair in which I was strapped to. The monster
looked blood hungry, and I could see their nametags: Diseasio, Cancerio, and
Thyroidio.
They had come to take my life, so I once again frantically tried to break through
the tape.
They inched in closer and closer, and with each wobbly step they took, I could
smell the
rotting stench of death. Wherever they stepped they left piles of fleshy waste.
There was
no hope for survival; the monsters had finally surrounded me. Suddenly, out
of the
corner of my eye I saw a skinny, little girl break through the door to the left
of me. The
light surrounding her was so intense that I could only distinguish her shadowy
figure.
Once she stepped out of the halo of light emitting from the doorway, I realized
that it was
you, Amanda. You ran into the room and stabbed, jabbed, punched, and kicked
those
monsters to a pulp; the nurse ran screaming out of the room in fear of experiencing
your
wrath of good intent. You then ran up to me and ripped the tape off my body
and set me
free. This, of course, is a dream I had while in the waiting room of the hospital,
but I
believe that this dream foretells your future. You successfully fought your
personal battle
with cancer. You beat your illness and became a hero with all of the strong
will and
beautiful power that embodies your soul. By surviving and overcoming cancer,
you will
be a hero to millions of others who are experiencing the wrath of the same disease
as you.
Show the other children who are battling cancer that they can survive too. Be
strong and
never doubt that you will overcome this setback and go on to live your life
as an artist.
Believe I yourself, for you are indeed a special young lady.
Love,
Grandpa Lee
P.S. When all this mess has passed over, I want you to go fishing
with me. I heard about
a lake that has an abundance of large mouth bass.
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