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Hi, my name is Carter Gates and I am 11 years old. I'm raising money for Children's Hospital Colorado. I would like to raise money for kids fighting cancer at Children's. I want to raise money for them because I do not want other kids to suffer through a long cancer journey. I have had cancer as well so I would know.
I was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia with CNS involvement on April 30, 2013. I had to go through three and a half years of treatment. I would like to raise money because I suffered through my treatment and I hate the thought of other kids having to suffer through it just like me. The side effects are terrible. The medicine that saves your life gives you stinky side effects. I have very bad back pain that effects my life seriously. I go to school half days because my pain is so bad somtimes I can't even walk. It kills me to have to hear or see the kids that have to deal with those side effects.
If the research labs get enough money they can find better medicine with less side effects. I thought when you were done with treatment you are supposed to be a normal kid again. I finished treatment on September 23, 2016 but I still feel like I'm in treatment because I still have the awful side effects. Please donate money so other kids both now and in the future can get better treatments and have way less side effects.
MORE ABOUT ME
I was diagnosed with T-cell leukemia on April 30, 2013. As soon as I got diagnosed I had to go to the hospital immediately because I had a mass in my chest. A mass is a bunch of dead cancer cells that stick together. I was going to take a Flight For Life to Aurora Children's hospital from Colorado Springs but there was a terrible snow storm so I had to take an ambulance with like eight people. There was a psychologist, driver, two nurses, doctor, assistant, assistant driver, and my mother. They were all on the ambulance because they thought the mass would make me stop breathing because the mass was pushing on my lungs and heart. When we finally arrived at the hospital after a two and a half hour drive we were greeted by nice nurses and doctors who infected me with a smile. I was brought down to the surgery department I got a PICC line instead of a port. A PICC line is a IV line it has two little lines to put the medicine in. I got a PICC line because the port which they would have given me is supposed to go by the heart but that's were the mass was. The PICC line goes in your right or left arm a couple inches above your elbow crease. A port is a little circle that has like an inclosed water slide that goes into an artery which sends it to your heart which pumps it all over your body. It goes into a pocket of skin and has three bumps that the nurses use so they put the needle in dead perfect. The needle looks like an yellow butterfly but has a needle in it. I had a hard journey. Sometimes I had to go five days a week for chemo. I also had tons of spinal taps, brain radiation, hospital stays, endless needle pokes, neuropathy (nerve damage from chemo causing pain), and lots and lots of chemo infusuions. I was really hard but either way I had to go through it so I could either laugh or cry and I chose to laugh. People tell me I am always smiling. I choose to be happy and laugh, my mantra is Attitude is Everything. I have met some extraordinary nurses named Lauren Tytler, Sarah Sanders,Melissa and Camille. I have also met some amazing doctors, Dr. Hilden and Dr. Rogers. They have saved my life. I am lucky to have such an awesome team helping me. Some of my side effects from my chemo gives me really bad back pain. I had to take like 20 pills every day during my three and a half year journey. I have successfully survived cancer but I would like to try and fundraise to get money specifically for childhood cancer and the Center for Cancers and Blood Disorders at Children's. If you donate you are giving the kids hope and better medicine and way less terrible side effects. In my family I have an extraordinary dad, a beautiful mom, a compassionate little sister, and a sweet older sister. My family is spectacular. My little sister's name is Charlotte and my older sister's name is Lili. I am so excited to be an ambassador for Children's to help other kids like me. Thank you all!!
Sincerely,
Carter Gates