I wish to serve my school lunch
Rashawn
17
cancer
Wish Alumni Then & Now Feature - Rashawn
As a promising two sport athlete, I had my whole future ahead of me. I was phenomenal at basketball and football, but all of that changed on Monday, June 14th 2010. On this day, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. It all started when my high school football team was invited to a 7 on 7 tournament at East Carolina University. I was the starting running back and one of top running backs in the triangle area. On Saturday, June 12th 2010 symptoms begin to take over my body. My vision began to get blurry, my face began to swell up, and my breathing was getting heavy. My coach took me out and made me sit to the side after I missed a wide open pass from our quarterback. He told me to sit down and relax. After the tournament ended I began to realize that something was wrong with me.
When I arrived at home I expressed to my mother that my body feels different. I told my mother my body is not the same. So on Monday, June 14th 2010 she took me to the local doctor (Raleigh Pediatrics) to get my body checked out. The doctor drew my blood and sent me home on muscle relaxer. He said my body was exhausted and I needed to rest. On my way home, my mom received a phone call from the doctor. She put the phone on speaker so I could hear what he had to say. The doctor said “Mrs. Merritt, I need you to rush your son to the closest Wake Medical Hospital. Our machine is showing that your son has over 545,000 white blood cells. Either our machine is broken or these results are accurate.” We rushed down to WakeMed in Clayton, NC to get my blood redrawn. Later on that night, we received another phone call from the same doctor, but this time this phone call was not good. The doctor told me and my mother that I have cancer and that I need to stop what I am doing and go straight to UNC Chapel Hill.
My mother and I drove to UNC and met Doctor Stuart Gold (Chief Hematology Oncology of Pediatric). Doctor Gold told me “Rashawn, I am shocked you're still alive.” He said that if I didn't come in at the time that I did I would have passed away within the next 24-48 hours. I was rushed to the pediatric intensive care unit where I stayed for almost two weeks. I was then moved up to the fifth floor which is the children's cancer hospital. I stayed in the hospital for almost three months.
Wish alumni Rashawn today
During my time in the children's hospital I met the Make-A-Wish organization. There were three amazing women that came into my room and told me about the organization. After they left my room, my mom and I discussed if I wanted to have a wish granted. I said yes, and we started the paperwork. After being released from the hospital, I was told I could never play sports again or even go back to school. However, through the grace of God I was able to play football, basketball, and return back to school for my senior year!
During my senior year Ms. Julie Lowe from Make-A-Wish called me about getting my wish granted before the deadline. At the time, my original wish was to meet Lebron James. I called Ms. Julie back and told her I had changed my mind about my wish. I said “I have a better idea. I would like to feed my entire high school Chick-Fil-A.” I chose to feed 1900 faculty and students at Middle Creek High School for my wish. I really wanted to give back to all the people that supported me during my journey with cancer. My wish day was one of the best days of my life - it felt good to see others smiling.
After high school, I enrolled in North Carolina Central University. During my freshman year, I tried out for the basketball team and made the cut. During basketball season I received a phone call saying someone had tickets for me to go see Lebron James play versus the Charlotte Hornets. It was crazy how everything came full circle. Immediately after I hung up, Coach Moton calls me and asks where I am. I told him I am leaving class and on my way to my dorm. He told me to come to his office and make sure I bring my I.D., money, and wallet. I was so nervous and confused. I met him at his office and we got in his car. As soon as we got in the car, my mom called me back and asked where I was at because she was in Durham, NC to pick me up to take me to the game. I told her I was in the car with my coach and I don't know where we are going. She asked to speak to my coach. I gave him the phone and my mom asked where he was taking me. He told her he was taking me to meet Lebron James. He had all access passes for me to meet Lebron and his entire team. At that time, Lebron James was playing for the Miami Heat. After the game, I was able to meet Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Shane Battier. Lebron James told me that I was his idol and that he admires me. He told me to continue to be great and to never give up. He also gave me his shoes he wore that night and signed them for me. That was by far one of the best moments ever in my life.
It's so amazing, God works in mysterious ways. Literally I was fighting for my life one day, impacting the lives of my peers, and being blessed the next day. Today, I am a father of one, a full time employee at North Carolina State University, and a business owner of my own non-profit. I take life more seriously now and cherish every moment that I have. Nobody is promised tomorrow. We all have to live everyday so cherish it because when our clock stops ticking that is our final hour. Always live life to the fullest and be grateful for the little things in life. I am forever grateful for Make-A-Wish Eastern North Carolina for all they have done for me. Make-A-Wish is my family and will always be my family. I’m honored to serve on the Board of Directors now as a Wish Alumni and give back to an organization that gave so much to me.
