My name is Katelyn and if you can believe it I used to be a normal kid. I’ve always been short for my age but nothing like I am now. I haven’t grown at all because of my chemo treatments over the past two years.
Katelyn Murray was on a twenty-four month journey through leukemia. Her journey started when she was twelve. On Sunday February 4, 2018 (World Cancer Day) she told her story and rang her “end-of-treatment-bell” at North Pointe. She is one tough teen. This is a portion of the speech she gave at her celebration party.
My Dream Is Still Alive
At one time my doctors told me my bones would not support my weight and I could never play soccer again.
That was devastating.
My dream was to play on Canada’s Olympic soccer team.
What a surprise in November 2017 when my doctor told me that it looked like my bones were now A-OK to go.
I’m starting to get back into soccer and my dream is alive again.
Being much shorter and lighter than the other players I tend to get hurt more often. Because I get hurt some people see me as weak. But if they knew that it’s a miracle that I am still alive and playing the game I think they would realize I am actually tough.
Side Effects On My Journey
Cancer started all this in the first place but it was the treatments that made me sick.
* My kidneys shut down for twenty-five days.
* I got a blood clot on my port that required me to take blood thinners.
* A nose tube was inserted into my stomach. That may not sound too horrible, but it gave me ulcers in my throat and stomach. I remember every detail of it.
* My liver was compromised.
* My treatments left me forgetful and disoriented.
* I developed drop foot. I couldn’t lift my feet.
* My nerves were damaged and my brain couldn’t talk to some parts of my body.
* When I was really sick even getting out of my bed and walking around the fish tank in my unit was a lot of effort.
* My potassium levels dropped. That always caused muscle cramping. Your heart is a muscle. My heart was compromised more than once.
* I suffered blood poisoning and was on the edge of septic shock. ICU doctors worked for eight hours to stabilize me.
Katelyn and Amanda
Katelyn’s beaded journey
Don
Lauren
Who Is The Lucky One?
One thing that made me mad during my treatments was friends would ask me if I was coming to school. When I told them I couldn’t because of my cancer they would reply that “I was so lucky.”
I want everyone to know that missing school, meeting someone special, going to an Oilers game or having some cool experiences are not worth it. I would rather have lived a normal healthy life than had two years of being near death.
But what these cool experiences did for me was feel loved and not forgotten about. They gave me a break from the battle and made me feel stronger.
What’s Next
Moving forward I will have monthly appointments, blood tests and other tests. I am in remission and will be considered that for the next five years.
After five years the doctors will call me cured.
It’s hard to know how to help someone who is sick. Then once you know, you’re never sure of you are doing the right thing.
Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.
The Champ
More on Katelyn
Fearless in the face of Leukemia
Please leave a comment for Katelyn below. Thank you.
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Hello dear Kate. You are nothing short of a champ, in soccer and in life! I love that through some of your worst times and in the midst of receiving disheartening news from docs, you just marched right on, did the things you loved and dreamed big! What a blessed miracle that you are in remission and walking back into living life as a regular teen. Keep dreaming Kate!
Good on you Kaitlyn. I am happy your journey produced healthy results. I pray you will have a long, happy life and God will continue to be glorified in and through you. I too am in a similar struggle but mine is incurable. I want God to be glorified in and through me and He gets to decide when He takes me home.
You’ll have to watch the video of Sunday when it is up on NP’s site. It was one of, if not the highest pinnacle moment at NP. Thank you for commenting Deb.
Thank you for commenting Myrna and for sharing what is happening in your life. I have prayed for you today that you would know the peace and mercy of Jesus Christ in the midst of your battle.
Dear Katelyn, You inspired all who heard your story more than you will ever know. I didn’t see a dry eye anywhere I looked. It made me and others realize what we can actually handle in life when we have all that faith in God and have the holy spirit living within us. It made me stop and realize that even though I feel the holy spirit and Jesus as my rock and foundation there are some tests I hope I never have to go through. (such as yours) . The Lord has sent you back to us, for us to realize we need to trust God that whatever we need to go through in life, God has a reason for it, and we need to trust him with every ounce of being we have. All our love to you, Katelyn.
I was deeply moved listening to your journey on Sunday morning. My wife went down to the front with other cancer patients and got the opportunity to speak with you. You are an amazing young girl. You have been and still are very brave, full of courage. Being brave is not saying you are afraid, it says you are afraid but do it anyway. Your message is powerful because you, as a young girl, have the realization that you can use this journey to encourage others. Something that we as aged adults sometimes don’t realize. You are amazing, a true Champion.
I couldn’t have said it any better, Jeff. A big amen to your comment.
Katelyn, thank you for sharing with us, your incredible, courageous journey.
Your faith in God, your grit, your steadfastness, your love for others is outstanding.
We will continue to pray that every appointment/checkup you go to will be one step closer to 100 percent cancer free.
Don’t ever stop dreaming about being in the Olympics and repping Canada for the women’s soccer team!!
We’ll be cheering for you along the way!
My previous comment should read “Being brave doesn’t mean you are not afraid, it means even though you are afraid, you do it anyway. We are thanking God for the fulfilling of His promise in your life Katelyn.