Teen with Cancer Finds Hope and Healing, Thanks to Gas Cards
From Chronic Pain to Cancer Diagnosis
Asa is an active 17-year-old boy. He lives in Harris County, Georgia with his family, and enjoys competitive clay shooting. After a competition, his shoulder was in extreme pain. His mother initially chalked it up to a simple muscle strain. But the pain didn't go away. Sensing something was wrong, his mother took him to the ER. From there, the doctors called an ambulance. After heading to a children's hospital in Atlanta, Asa was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL.
Struggle for Survival
At the children's hospital, Asa started an aggressive course of cancer treatment. After 27 days, doctors said the cancer was in remission. However, Asa's struggle to survive wasn't over - far from it. He continued to have issues, and was in and out of the hospital multiple times. Worse, the cancer struck back again and again.
From Extreme Stress...
As time went on, Asa and his family were put under extreme stress. Driving 350 miles round-trip for medical care was tiring - and prohibitively expensive. Asa could tell that even when his mom reassured him everything was ok, it really wasn't. "The big city of Atlanta is fast-paced, has crazy drivers, and takes forever with traffic," said Asa. The high price of gas wasn't helping matters, as Asa's parents were off work so they could care for him. How would Asa continue his fight against cancer?
...To Relief and Rest
That was when Asa's family found out about Mercy Medical Angels, specifically their ground transportation program. Mercy Medical Angels sent gas cards to Asa's family. This covered the exorbitant costs of traveling long distances for medical care. "Mercy Medical Angels really came through for us," said Asa. His family added, "The transportation assistance helps us have more financial stability."
"Paving the Way to My Future"
Asa listed off the number of times he's needed various types of medical care, and for how long. "500 days, 21 bone marrow aspirations, 36 lumbar punctures, 92 chemo treatments, 12 ER visits, 88 overnight hospital stays, 63 clinic visits, 87 blood draws, 4 echocardiograms, 13 CT scans, 10 x-rays, 23 platelet infusions, 17 at-home injections, 15 stem cell harvests, and 1 ambulance transport." He continued on to say: "This journey that I didn't ask to go on is helping pave the way to my future." He talked about how he didn't want to be a doctor or a nurse - "that just didn't seem like it was for me." But battling cancer, and experiencing how Mercy Medical Angels helped him in his time of need, nudged him towards a career path that involved helping others. His family noted that despite the challenges, "Asa continues to have a positive attitude, relentless courage, and a desire to live his life to the fullest. We are so proud of him."
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