Scholarship / Essay for the James Rhio O'Connor Scholarship "Hope Diguised as an Angel" [NEW]

The following is an essay I am supposed to write for the James Rhio O'Connor scholarship. Please give feedback. Enjoy! :)

The cries of a newborn possesses the fourth floor west wing, a beautiful angel has been welcomed into this world. The angel's name is Hope. As she takes her first breath that detaches her from her mother's womb, we gaze and admire her, for her beauty is raw and fresh and has the power to cease all existing quarrels. We watch her grow and develop into a beautiful young human being. From her first word to her first step, we have been there. Her smile somehow has transformed and when once she had the ability to light an entire nation, she now has less than the ability to light the room. Her joy and excitement has lacked complacency and she now faces death in its eyes; our angel has been diagnosed with cancer. I cried because my angel cried, I never understood how something so new at life can face the risk of losing it. Although she was not my child, I felt for her. I cried her cries and screamed her every pain. I encountered a symbiotic relationship with my little cousin and as she lost fragments of her life, I attempted to live those for her through mine. I created a newfound hope in promising her future with me. I remember when she whispered to me "I do not want to die, not yet, it's too soon, I have to live my childhood." She then refused to stay at home and just wait, so she lived her childhood; she went to carnivals and she went to playgrounds, she lived a normal childhood life. Despite her condition, she did not allow herself to leave this Earth without living the life she admires from storybooks and television shows, her every move was governed by the idea that she did not have a life threatening condition.

Her situation is much like James Rhio O'Connor's in that their conditions did not let them stop living. When James Rhio O'Connor was diagnosed with mesothelioma, he was given less than a year to live, but he was not yet ready to stop living. Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that develops from transformed cells originating in the protective lining of the internal organs.This cancer is usually developed from an exposure to asbestos and creates a tumor in areas of development, such as the pleura region of the lungs and the pericardium region of the heart. Working with professional clinicians, Rhio O'Connor developed a system that allowed him to survive 7 ˝ years past his determined prognosis. Rhio O'Connor exhibited a strength and perseverance that is astonishing for his condition. While at his lowest point, he envisioned his highest point, and used this to create a mechanism resulting in the prolonging of his life. He created a hope and from this hope I am inspired. Had I been faced with the same circumstances as him, I would have felt lost. I can only imagine how distressed he felt upon hearing of his condition, for the pain I felt for my baby cousin was barely enough to even relate to my baby cousin's emoted state. I am quite sure my fear of death would encompass my overall being. However, had I been given the opportunity, I would have researched my condition and explore every aspect of prior experimental solutions. I would explore every step and decipher the differences between each; understand what went wrong and what went right, in hopes to create a solution that encompasses all the positive aspects of the experiment to either eliminate or diminish my condition. I would make sure to contact all clinicians in the specific field to help me with the proper approach to my experimental conclusion to my condition. Anybody related to this condition will be contacted, from patients to researchers, I would make sure my approach is concise and encompasses all aspects from each end of the cancer I was diagnosed with.

The inspiration Rhio O'Connor expresses is the same inspiration that motivates me to become a doctor. I wish to have the same approach to diagnosing and curing rare cancers and conditions I come in contact with as a doctor. I hope to cure those like my little cousin and those like Rhio O'Connor because a smile should not be threatened under any condition. The mere thought of restoring a smile for an extra second, an extra day, or even an extra year, is enough to state I was successful. Rhio O'Connor's approach to prolonging his life has become a blueprint upon which I plan to follow when I become a doctor. Both my cousin and Rhio O'Connor teach us a lesson that living shouldn't be done when it is almost gone, but should be admired and lived while we still have it.