“Am I going to die?” The thought repeated. There are rare times in life when a person thinks they are living their last moments. The thought makes it easy to have their life flash before their eyes. When Sr. Adrian Herrera Mendez was first diagnosed with cancer, he didn’t know how to take it. The doctors stepped out for a moment to talk with his parents. As soon as the door closed, he immediately became more aware of his surroundings. He noticed the stench of disinfecting alcohol, the almost completely plain white room and he saw how high up in the hospital building he was. Heights have always been his number one fear, but the latest news easily became the number one fear. Herrera tried to notice every little thing in that tiny room. Anything to take his mind off of the news he received. But he came to the same conclusion, his whole life would completely change.
Herrera was diagnosed with a cancer called Rhabdomyosarcoma. The rare cancer mainly affects the muscle
tissue of the body. Before his cancer diagnosis, he loved to play around with his friends, and like any 10-year-old kid, barely understood the concept of cancer and the dangers of cancer. “I didn’t really fully understand what it meant since I was still really young. I was kinda scared because I saw my mom and dad crying and I had a feeling that I wasn’t really gonna make it.” The doctors explained to his parents that he would undergo chemotherapy, and regularly on Tuesdays would need to go to Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.
“I don’t remember exactly what the medications were, I just know it was a round of chemotherapy and a round of Benadryl. The chemotherapy obviously made my hair fall out and it made me sick to my stomach. And the Benadryl made me sleepy and gave me migraines.” After the chemotherapy, Herrera could not eat anything without immediately spewing the food back out. As a result, he lost an excessive amount of weight and at the lowest, he weighed only 109 pounds. “While Adrian had cancer, he didn’t seem like himself. I think during that time, he was struggling not just physically but mentally.” Araceli Herrera said.
Throughout Herrera’s journey battling cancer, he faced many obstacles that were difficult to overcome. The chemotherapy was a contributing factor to Herrera’s recovery but the side effects made him physically drained to the point that the simplest things would exhaust him. “I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t walk, just walking in between the house would make me tired and dizzy. Even lifting up simple objects like cups and controllers and my phone or anything like that would be as if I was lifting a fifty-pound weight.” He would feel tired throughout the entire day no matter how long he slept. He would wake up in the morning blinded by the illuminating light from the sun peeking through his curtains. He moved the blanket to the side to stretch his legs out of the bed and sat up. As his legs dangled from the bed, he immediately felt dizzy and tired as if he only slept for 2 hours. Herrera was bald for most of his middle school years and obviously, many immature middle schoolers would tease him with labels like, “cancer kid” or “Make A Wish kid.” He turned the jokes into a positive thing to make light of his unfortunate situation.
His most memorable and best moment of having cancer was when the Make-A-Wish Foundation invited him to a shopping spree. He bought clothing, a few skateboards and parts for the board. Herrera and his family were invited for breakfast at Denny’s as well! “The worst thing probably had to be the shots that my mom had to give me at home. My immune system isn’t producing enough white blood cells.” The doctor recommended Herrera take shots that would boost his white blood cells and take them daily for at least three months. His mother had to take practice courses to know how and where the shots needed to be. He remembers the first time he had to have an injection. His mother made him look away as Herrera was very nervous about the pain. He felt the needle poke at his skin and then immediately started to feel the needle go deeper. The pain was unbearable and he cried out to make her stop. “I feel like the worst thing was her having to give her son shots while he would cry since they hurt a lot.”
His mother said, “During the chemotherapy, his mental health declined and didn’t seem like himself. But little by little, the medicine helped him physically. Mentally, Adrian has changed a lot after his experience with
cancer. He has become stronger and healthier and has matured so much. He has been feeling much more empathy for others.” His mother was Herrera’s biggest supporter. She was always by his side during appointments or when he was in pain. “I am grateful for all the support my mom has given me throughout my treatment.”
Despite all his difficult obstacles, Herrera is grateful to have experienced cancer. “I learned not to take life for granted and I still hold that in my heart or in my head.” He feels so thankful to have been able to survive to tell his story. “When I got cancer, having to go to bed at night not knowing if I would wake up in the morning made me realize that life is such a beautiful gift given by God and that I need to try my hardest to live for him while I had the time to. Now I try to live for him. I try to live by his words and teachings although I am no saint, I try to use the mercy he gave me and the life he decided to let me live by trying to live and make the most out of God’s gift.” He feels that experiencing the same things as others who passed from cancer is scary. He is now able to participate in physical activities at school since he is now much healthier and stronger. “There have been so many younger people that didn’t make it from leukemia so I think I’m blessed to be a survivor.”
