The sky was blue that morning, not a cloud in sight. The game was tough, but we were holding our own. I was put on the right wing against a girl who was around my size. I was passed the soccer ball from the center and took it down the sideline. I felt the girl behind me running, but I started to run faster. It felt like I had beaten her.

Then horrible pain spread through my body, and I was laying on the hot turf. My first instinct was “Get up, Bella.” I thought I was fine… until I tried to take a step and I almost fell back to the floor. The trainer wrapped my swollen leg in ice and said, “I've never seen anything like this. I would recommend going to your doctor.”

After countless x-rays and doctors’ appointments it was confirmed that it was a blood clot that had formed in my leg and it would go down after some rest… so we thought.

Weeks passed, and the swelling came back. had gone down but then I noticed it started up again. Areas of my back started to go numb and tingling pains started shooting throughout my back. It was almost impossible to ever be comfortable or sit still. Eventually, I gave up my stubborn ways and went to the ER.

It was hours of waiting and blood tests and x-rays. An ER doctor decided, just from what I was saying, he didn't feel comfortable leaving until he ran my tumor levels. He pointed out all the little fuzzy clouds on the film that had taken over my lungs. There were possible indications of something cancerous.

The oncologist was on her way.

My stomach sunk and a blanket of anxiety wrapped around me. I was admitted to the hospital and didn’t leave for 15 days.

Eventually they solved the question of my diagnosis - Metastatic Ewing's Sarcoma.

I didn’t know how to react or cope with the fact that I had just been diagnosed with cancer. I was 17… this wasn’t supposed to happen. This wasn’t my plan.

My family coped in different ways privately, but they didn’t let me see it.

The treatments were, to put it simply - rough. I lost all my hair and was sick all the time. I got severe burns from radiation treatments. I didn’t like to leave my house; I was self-conscious of the way I looked. But I had to realize it wasn’t my fault I looked this way. There wasn't anything I could do to stop it.

When I was diagnosed, I was told I could be granted a wish. Though, honestly, I felt like I didn’t deserve one. “Why not give it to a younger kid?” I thought. My mom had to explain to me that I was still a kid, and I deserved something good like this.