About Me

Profile

About:

I call Cedar Park Texas my hometown. As I’ve moved slightly south to UT I’ve realized that most people don’t bother to distinguish between north Austin and Cedar Park; they’re one in the same. I grew up in Austin, and I love everything about it. When I was young I split my time between baseball and Lake Travis. By middle school I had moved on to a faster paced sport; my family started riding dirt bikes. From the first moment I started riding I was hooked. We continue this as a family sport still today. My high school was Vista Ridge in Cedar Park. Academics came easy, and I graduated well. I never bothered with school sports; all of my time was dedicated to my passion of racing dirt bikes. The time came for college applications and I sent in one. I never thought twice about where I wanted to be. I’m here as an physics major and like most students, I absolutely love living in Austin and being a part the great institution that is The University of Texas.
That’s half of the story. There is a second half that parallels and influences the first. The summer before my 8th grade year, when I was 13 years old, I was diagnosed with Cancer. I had a brain tumor in the pineal region of my brain; dead center. I was diagnosed August 11, 2004. Because of the tumor’s position in my brain there was an excessive amount pressure in my skull, threatening my life. On August 13 I had my first brain surgery (my first surgery ever) to relieve the pressure. That particular August 13th happened to be a Friday. Yeah, I had my first brain surgery on Friday the 13, though I didn’t realize it until after the surgery. The surgery went well, and a few weeks later I found myself lying in a hospital bed receiving chemotherapy treatments. Chemo was the hardest part of my experience. I was scheduled for 6 sessions of chemo, I spent every 4th week in the hospital receiving chemo ”˜til all 6 sessions were done. When I was in the hospital I was miserable, and to this day I feel that there was only one thing that got me through each week. When I was in between treatments, something amazing happened. I was moderately healthy, much healthier than expected. The only thing that got me through each week of chemo was knowing that next week I was going to be back on my dirt bike, doing what I loved. That continued for all 6 sessions. After completing the chemo regiment, I got an MRI that brought fantastic news; my tumor was dead. From there I moved on to radiation treatment, one session a day for 30 days. This was far easier than chemo. Halfway through radiation a piece of the dead tumor broke off and caused my shunt (the device that was put in my brain during the first surgery to drain my brain fluid and keep my intracranial pressure normal) to fail. I had a second brain surgery to replace the device, and then finished my radiation treatments. By May of 2005 I was given a clean bill of health and spent my summer building my strength and preparing for high school.

Why I Ride

I ride for Hope, Knowledge and Charity. I ride because I believe that Unity is Strength, Knowledge is Power, and Attitude is Everything. I ride for pediatric Cancer patients, for the 46 kids that were diagnosed with Cancer today, and for the 46 that will be diagnosed tomorrow. I ride for Emily, who lost a leg to Cancer, and for Devin who was shocked with a relapse before her senior year. I ride for Analisa, and all of the friends I made through my experience. As a pediatric Cancer patient myself, I got to see firsthand what Cancer can do at such a young age. I got to see the friendships made, the strength gained through the support of friends that were experiencing the same, the never give up attitudes and the inspiration of triumph. And unfortunately I got to see how crushing it can be to everyone when a relapse is announced or a friend is lost. I ride because kids should never have to experience Cancer in this way.