I wish to go to Walt Disney World Resort
Neel
9
cancer
Wish Alumni Then & Now Feature - Neel
Sometimes life throws you a curve ball, and life threw me a curve ball eight years ago. I am Neel Panajkar, and I am 17 years old. I was born in Portland, Oregon and spent 14 years of my life in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. When I was in elementary school, I started throwing up at school. My parents did not understand why it was happening and after a week of doctor visits, we were told I had Meduloblastoma (an aggressive form of brain cancer). I had a tumor the size of a golf-ball at the base of my brain and it was growing very rapidly.
Luckily, the doctors caught the cancer at an early stage but I had to be immediately operated and I underwent an 11-hour surgery. The surgery to remove the tumor was successful, but I was paralyzed throughout the right side of my body. I was devastated since it was my dominant side. However, my family and I did not lose hope. We spent hundreds of hours at therapy to get my dexterity back. Though during the process, I had already switched to being a left-handed person.
Due to the type of cancer that I had, I had to undergo radiation and chemo. I was fortunate to get admission into Mass General Hospital (MGH) in Boston for the Proton Therapy which promised less side-effects compared to the regular radiation therapy. After two months of proton-therapy in MGH Boston, my family and I came back to Portland and started an 18-month Chemotherapy treatment at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland. Since my birthday is in Aug, I was always the youngest in school. In middle school, my parents with the advice from school counselors and doctors, decided that I repeat a school year. This helped me a lot and school became less stressful.
Neel with his family today.
Those years were very difficult. Since I was quite young, I don't remember much of the ordeal, but I do remember when I became a wish child. After my chemo treatment, the Make-A-Wish organization granted my wish of visiting Disney World. During my visit, my family and I were given the opportunity of a lifetime, wherein we were able to skip the line at every ride. The limo rides and the special treatment during the flight was truly a dream come true!!
One key side effect of radiation & chemo is that my physical growth was shunted and therefore I am short. Due to this I often get bullied in School. To avoid being bullied, I engrossed myself in learning about information-technology, and two years ago my family and I moved to Raleigh, NC for my high school years. I am currently a Senior at Apex High School in Cary in the Academy of Information Technology (AOIT). I am very happy to have gotten into the IT track in high school. I love reading about technology and getting certified. I am one of the youngest in my school to be Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure & SAFe certified. During my 11th grade summer vacation, I did a 10-week internship at Ceridian where I promised to donate my 1st paycheck to Make-A-Wish Eastern North Carolina and was able to get matching funds from my company as well. After I turn 18, I plan to be a Wish Granter for Make-A-Wish Eastern North Carolina.
I am an eternal optimist and believe in living life to the fullest. I am blessed to have my parents, sister and extended family supporting me during this ordeal. I am eternally grateful to Make-A-Wish foundation for being part of my life and numerous kids like me.