Everyone has experienced some sort of cough symptom during the cold winter months. We all put it down to the weather and perhaps take some sort of cough syrup and hope that it will go away in a few days.
We generally avoid going to the doctors and put off taking other treatment.
However, after reading this, you may realize that it might be worth getting your symptoms checked by a doctor if you have been feeling sick for quite a while and don’t seem to be feeling an improvement in your general health.
The story here is about Shayla Mitchell, a 16-year-old girl who suffered from a bad cough for quite some time, and so she thought ….
Shayla felt that it was about time she got checked by a doctor as her cough was becoming too overwhelming. She asked her dad Tom to take her there and they agreed to have dinner afterwards together.
However, when Shayla was examined by the doctor, it was revealed that Shayla was not suffering from a bad cough. Sadly, she had developed a large cancerous tumor which had taken almost two thirds of her breast tissue.
Despite the upsetting news, Shayla and her dad Tom still followed their prearranged plans of having dinner, only it was not in a restaurant but in hospital instead.
Shayla’s prognosis was not good as the doctor reported that she had advanced Hodgkins lymphoma.
Tom wanted to show his daughter his support and headed out to buy them both a bracelet which they would both wear until the day she beats cancer.
Shayla fought the cancer for years amongst numerous blood transfusions, countless tests, chemo therapy and even a cardiac arrest. But Shayla was determined to beat her horrible sickness.
Tom as any other parent was very worried about his daughter and took to Facebook and wrote this:
“How in the world was I supposed to have this conversation with my darling daughter?” he wrote. “How in the world was I going to be brave enough to tell my daughter she was going to die? I once heard a quote that sort of sums things up for me. “Can a man still be brave if he is afraid? … That is the only time he CAN be brave.”
“I knew I had to be brave for HER! I did of course have that conversation with her, and as unbelievable as this may sound it turned out to be the most amazing, beautiful, magical, wonderful conversation I’ve ever had in my entire life, and one that I hope you NEVER EVER have to have…”
A few days after this, Shayla passed away. Tom was more than devastated by the knew that his little girl had fought hard and was brave until the very last moment.
Share this story to honor the lives of Shayla and other children that have died from cancer.
