Morgan Krek
Survivor
$1000 Winner
We would like to introduce you to Morgan. Morgan was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma in 2017. She is currently a senior at Berea-Midpark High school. She will be attending Cleveland State University in the fall and studying nursing. Morgan has always been very active. She played high school soccer and premier soccer for Cleveland Futball Club and Concordia Soccer Club for 4 years. She is a member of the National Honors society. Morgan also has spent time paying it forward. She has participated as a volunteer in the St. Baldrick’s event, volunteered at vacation bible school, and helped deliver socks to a men’s shelter.
Her diagnosis has shaped her dreams for her future. Morgan told us why she wants to be a nurse.
“My decision to go into the nursing field was brought on by a life changing experience. As a freshman in high school, I was a stand-out soccer player, starting as a freshman on varsity and earning Conference and Greater Cleveland Honorable Mention. I had many friends and enjoyed sporting and social events at school. I was living in the moment and not worrying about what was going to happen next. I had no idea where I wanted to go to college or what I wanted to study.
At the end of my freshman year, and during my Spring soccer season, I began to have pain in my left leg. The pain was not constant, so I thought it was just a muscle strain. By the middle of June the pain was getting so bad that it was hard to walk.
I had a bone biopsy completed and was officially diagnosed with Non-Metastatic Ewing's Sarcoma of my left femur. I was told that my soccer season (and more than likely, my soccer career) was over, I would have to go through 14 rounds of chemotherapy, I would lose my hair and would miss my sophomore year of high school. I felt scared and lost and was upset about losing my hair. I had a port surgically inserted and started my first round of chemotherapy. I essentially lived at the hospital for seven months, as my treatments were every other week for either three days or six days. Since my immune system was compromised due to the frequent treatments, I was not able to attend school or see my friends. I did all my school work from home or the hospital. This was very hard and I felt alone much of the time. My treatment was completed in June of 2018 and while I am not officially in remission, my scans have been clear since then.
While this was (and still is at times) very hard to deal with, this experience made me realize that I wanted to be a nurse. My nurses were so important to my fight. They were tough on me and pushed me, but they also took care of me when I was having a hard day. They would cheer me up and even help me with my school work when they had a break. My favorite nurses always brightened my spirits and made me laugh. They did much more than give me my medicine. They were my biggest cheerleaders and supporters and are the reason I made it through cancer treatments. They made me realize that being a nurse is more than just caring for sick people. I would like to be able to do for others what they did for me. I feel that my experiences would make me a good nurse because I understand how hard it is to be sick and would be able to empathize with those I care for.”
Morgan will definitely give her future patients much more than medicine! Best of Luck!