Sunday, November 27, 2011

The Way I See It

Title: The Way I See It
Author: Nicole Dryburgh
Genre: Autobiography

This week I continued reading the book called The Way I See It. It is about a girl who suffered from a very rare type of cancer, leaving her with many disabilities. In the next pages, I read about Nicole's first radoptherapies at the Royal Marsden Hospital. She wrote about how the surgents needed to make a mask for her face to ensure that the radioactive rays were always killing the cancerous cells, and not harming the healthy ones. This was probably really stressful and frightening for a girl who is only nine years old, and I cannot imagin how painful it must have been for her to endure all the radiotherapy treatments. It probably wasn't only physically painful, but mentally as well. Nicole started having to skip a lot of school, and stopped being close with many of her friends. Than, a few months after she found out that she had cancer, Nicole was given 2,500 British pounds by her aunt Linda, which she decided to donate to the Sargent Cancer Care charity. Reading this part of the book was really quite inspiring, as she decided to give the money to people who were suffering just like she was. What was really important in this passage, however, was the fact that Nicole understands that she is not alone, and that there are other people out there, with the same condition. This probably made her stronger and more willing to continue living her life normally.
When the radiotherapies ended, and when Nicole thought she was completely cured, she started having agonizing pains in her spine at the beginning of 2002. The doctors saw something peculiar on the MRI, so they  immediately sent her to the King's College Hospital, which must have been terrifying both for Nicole, and her family. It was shown that the cancer was still there, and that Nicole had to undergo an exploratory operation in July 2012. This must have been devastating for a thirteen year old girl (which is how she was when the cancer was discovered again), who probably wanted to spend her summer carelessly with her friends and family. When the surgery was completed, Nicole was released, and she was able to start her school year. However, next summer, her scars kept on swelling, and the swelling would not go away. This led to yet another trip to the hospital. She got chickenpox, and had to have another lumbar puncture which she describes as being "painful and really uncomfortable". It is really shocking through how much Nicole has already gone through, and I haven't even finished the book yet! All those experiences must have left a huge impact on Nicole as a person, as well as on her family. It must have been very difficult for her brother, Lee, as well as her mother to watch her become so seriously ill, and to cope with all the consequences.

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