Tori loves to dance. She loves animals, and even has several pets including dogs, cats, and goats. She has developed a dark but wonderful sense of humor and an incredible sense of confidence. After graduation, she plans to attend nursing school and become a care assistant at her treating hospital’s pediatric oncology department.
At age 16 while she was a junior in high school, she started to have chest pain, stomach pain and a low fever. It was then she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Tori had 6 rounds of escalated BEACOPP chemotherapy. Each round took 3 weeks and included an overnight stay and at least 3 additional outpatient visits. Tori missed most of her junior year and had to go on leave from her job. She is back at school as a senior and back to work, but finds it difficult sometimes to keep up.
We struggle more financially now because we have to set aside quite a bit of money for current and future medical expenses. We have definitely been changed through this experience. We are closer, we give each other more grace, and expect less of each other. We appreciate time together more. Tori’s brother was living 700 miles away at college when she was diagnosed. Since he has graduated and moved back home, they are very close and love each other deeply.
Tori is an inspiration to so many people. She has this attitude, I can’t even explain it. She has had to face so much hard stuff since cancer; she has been thrown into early menopause from the chemo, she now has scoliosis, she is likely infertile, and the list goes on. But she chooses not to focus on that and instead enjoys life. She accepts the crap that’s been handed her and makes it look good!
Hope session by Mel Miller Photography | Facebook | Instagram