Ashley Brecken

"Ash?" Maria asked, taking a bite of her pepperoni and cheese pizza. "May I ask you some-thing?""Of course." I smiled, enjoying my ham and cheese sandwich. "What do you want to know?""How do you do it?" Maria wanted to know. "How do you attend those weekly Chemo and monthly radiation sessions, knowing that you will feel tired, and maybe even sick after-wards?" Putting my sandwich down, I sat quietly for a moment. It wasn't that I was offended by Maria's question. Actually, it was quite the opposite. I was touched that she was asking me about my treatments. When I was diagnosed with Leukemia last May, I was quickly sent to St. Jude's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Even though I made friends with the other patients and staff, no one had really ever taken the time to ask me such a deep question. As you can probably imagine, I was more than happy to answer questions like that whenever my friends and family would ask them.Bringing myself back to reality, I replied, "Even though it is hard to go, sometimes, I go to my treatments because I am inspired by what the future holds, and the many people who inspire me to get better."