Some of the strongest people in the world are the people who have survived cancer. Between seven doctors they could not decide if Kerridwyn Cohick- Stoner, 10 had either chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO) or bone cancer. When Cohick-Stoner was eight years old, she first found out about having cancer. 

 “Mainly I was just angry with everyone because I could not figure out why it had to be me,” Cohick-Stoner said, “I had already been in and out of hospitals for other medical issues. So, I didn’t understand what I had done to deserve more issues.” 

Her family was shocked at first, her brother Conner took it the hardest because they were closer than most siblings.  

“How I overcame it,” Cohick-Stoner said, “was by never giving up even though most of the time I really wanted to. I just remembered who I had in my life depended on me and leaving them would hurt me more than the release of giving up.”  

 Cohick-Stoner went through four years of chemotherapy, every time she went in for evaluation there would be more legions and the dosage would have to be increased. Over a year and a half Cohick-Stoner had gone through all the stages in the pill form, she started at two pills and went all the way up to ten before she had to go to injections, and the dosage was still increased for a year and a half. The medication was stable for a year and started to work against the legions. Cohick-Stoner still must go to the doctor every three to four months to make sure the cancer has not come back.  

The side effects were not that great either. Most weekends Cohick-Stoner was ill and she was in constant pain. Her body was shutting down to the level where she had no immune system. She was pulled from public school in 6th grade. Currently the pain for Cohick-Stoner is consistent and unfortunately, she still does not have a good immune system.  

On a positive note, there were some good that was brought into Cohick-Stoner’s life. First off to help her cope she got a puppy. Her and her family became close, and they started doing a lot of activities together.