![]() ![]() “I said ‘This is what’s going on and as long as you guys support me, it will all be okay.’” “I was just straightforward about it,” Giselle said. Giselle began informing others of her condition. Treatments include chemotherapy, targeted drugs and bone marrow transplantation. It essentially becomes cancer of the blood. It starts when a bone marrow cell develops errors in DNA and produces too many white blood cells. ALL is diagnosed in roughly 3,000 people between the ages of 0-19 each year in the US and is the most common form of childhood cancer. Giselle’s specific diagnosis is acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). I found out I made the cheer team that same day, and I said ‘Great’. I have leukemia,’ and my heart sank,” Lisette said, “.We kind of went through it together, but I didn’t have any words. Lisette noticed in the spring that her friend seemed “a bit off” and when Giselle missed a day of school, Lisette asked her if everything was all right. People gravitate to certain individuals and like Adan, Lisette was quickly drawn in by Giselle’s warmth and infectious positivity. “She saw an innocent freshman, and she thought ‘Okay, I’ll use her’. ![]() “She really liked to cheat off of me in biology. Lisette laughed when asked how she became friends with Giselle. The two met when Lisette was a freshman and Giselle was a sophomore. West Leyden junior Lisette Tapia is also one of Giselle’s closest friends. Even to this day, when I think about it, I still can’t even accept it.” “As soon as I got home I hugged my mom, and I just started crying. “I zoned out during the car ride, thinking about our friendship and stuff,” Adan said. On the drive home, he was informed by one of Giselle’s family members that Giselle had been diagnosed with leukemia. Seeing his friend so weak, he knew the situation was serious. Giselle remained there for 10 days with fluid on her lungs and had to undergo blood transfusions and a spinal tap.Īdan visited her in the hospital. “I knew something was wrong that morning,” she said.Īfter he finished his SAT, Adan’s worry turned to genuine concern upon learning that Giselle had been taken back to the emergency room at Elmhurst and then transported to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. Giselle didn’t make it through an hour of her SAT test before suddenly leaving the testing room and not returning. “When you’re with her, you just feel that vibe. There was never a dull moment,” Adan said. “She’s just a fun person to hang out with. The two had become friends during the summer after their sophomore year. One of her best friends, West Leyden senior Adan Heredia, also took the test that day. Giselle had to take the SAT the next day. She was given pain medication and released and sent home that night. The levels were very low and when she battled extreme migraine headaches, Giselle was taken to the emergency room at Elmhurst Hospital. Her mother, Luz Elena Gomez, works at a doctor’s office and had Giselle’s hemoglobin level checked and then rechecked. ![]() ![]() While preparing for the girls' soccer season last school year, Giselle found herself fighting fatigue and lacking the motivation that a student taking honors classes relies upon. “I was climbing some stairs,” she said, “and I was out of breath.” The story begins in March with Giselle, then a 16-year-old nearing the end of her junior year, realizing something was wrong. This is a story about friendship, family, community, and the strength of West Leyden senior Giselle Gomez. ![]()
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