A fighter and survivor

[Redmouse]

About a year ago, Mike and Cody got together with Eva and her friends for their Senior photos. Her photo stuck out in my mind, not just because she's a beautiful young woman, but also a three time cancer survivor. I'm not a writer or a journalist, but I wanted to share the day I spent with her.


Eva in 2007.

A few weeks ago, the local chapter of American Cancer Society Relay for Life, contacted me to document the upcoming event. It's an event for those that have cancer, know someone with cancer and those that lost someone to cancer. The Relay events are overnight, starting at 7pm and runs to 7am. Different intervals of the night symbolizes phases of the fight against cancer. The organization offered a spot to display TriCoast photos at the event. I immediately thought of Eva.


Eva in 2008.


At the age of 14, Eva Schmidt was diagnosed with Adrenocortical Carcinoma, a rare form of cancer which forms on the adrenal gland. The mass that was detected was so severe, the doctors scheduled for surgery the next day. At the time of surgery, the cancer has been growing for at least a year. The cancer attacks the adrenal glands. Adrenal glands has a list of duties such as controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Eva was one of twelve known cases out of millions of cancer patients. Several of the other cases were reported somewhere in South America. The day after the surgery, the swelling had gone away.

Prior to the diagnosis, Eva lived a happy, healthy lifestyle. She's an avid tennis player and led an athletic lifestyle and diet. Her family has had no prior history of cancer. But even with proper exercise and dieting, Eva was gaining weight around four pounds a week. Her stomach was swelling up, and her face was getting puffy. She grew more fatigue as the days go by, and eventually started to sleep the day away. The doctors ran tests but found nothing conclusive and gave her a clean bill of health. Then one day, while using the bathroom, Eva seized up and fell to the floor. She was unable to get up and crawled for help. This time, her parents took her to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.



I met Eva at Hastings, a bookstore/coffee shop, in Lake Jackson. It was a quiet setting, until later in the afternoon, when patrons came in to order their frozen blended cappuccino. (Essentially, Frappuccino, but that's Starbucks registered trademark). The original plan was to do a phone interview, but I did not find it safe to do so in rush hour traffic and rescheduled. Later on the same evening, Eva sent a text message to see if I wanted to some of her bald pictures. Cody had mentioned to me that Eva got a new tattoo on her head. I wanted to see it for myself. We had conversed briefly the day before but I did not know what to expect. She came strolling down out of the "Art" section of full of life and wearing a big smile, the kind that makes you wonder what she had been reading. Eva Schmidt reminded me of a local pageant queen that just got off her limited edition Captain America Harley Davidson. Her head was freshly shaven and her tattoo, bright and vibrant, was an indication of her spirit.



Since that first operation, the cancer has came back twice. She has gone through over 8 different kinds of chemotherapy. Some are clinical trials which required Eva to document every day of her life. At one point, she has also tried radiation and has the pin point tattoo to show where the laser entered her body. The cancer has spread to her lungs and now to her heart. The doctors are afraid to operate, for fear that it would advance the cancer. The doctor told Eva to love everyone that she loves, prescribed her methadone, and then cried. Any normal person would probably have broken down. Eva shrugged it off and continued to enjoy life. She tells me about skydiving and traveling. At one point, we joked about "The Bucket List", and how we could get a ticket to Italy, Greece and some other remote locales.



I know Eva, not as the you woman with cancer, but rather the adventurous young girl with big dreams and a kick ass attitude. As I'm writing this, I know she's going through another round of chemotherapy. I could imagine in a week or two, she'll either be jumping out of an airplane or sailing out in the gulf. Or speeding through the county lines :)


If you would like to leave a message for Eva, please post it in the blog. Link. It would be very much appreciated.

[rkayw]

touching story. thank you for sharing. she sounds like an amazing woman.

[Sheldon]

Jordan.....I know how hard it must be to even sit down and begin to write about her life. She is a beautiful young lady and the images you took of her are so powerful and moving. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[JenJohnson79]

wow.

[HeatherLou]

Beautiful Work Jordan

[roshani]

thanks for sharing she seems like an amazing woman, and you did a wonderful job capturing her.

[Wes]

Amazing young woman. Thanks for sharing this, Jordan.

[jagphoto]

And that is why I love you my friend. You have an incredible heart and you did a beautiful job telling her story.

[12stones]

An amazing story, Jordan, and your pictures capture her spirit as well as your words. It's beautiful to see someone with such a large weight on her shoulders use it to embrace life and live it instead of letting that weight crush her. Thanks for sharing.

[Paulo]

Inspiring story and images, Jordan. Well done!

[gmarblestone]

Great job jordan,

not to take away from her, but my mom had survived cancer 3 times but has avoided chemotherapy on every occasion. I can't imagine how it must be to be so full of life but knowing your life is most likely not going to be full. The pictures are amazing and the on in the truck really is my favorite. The truck is beat up and dirty, but she is beautiful in it. Much like her story.

It must be cool to be able to do something like this as a job,

G

[Redmouse]

Eva is an inspiration. Everyone knows someone that has cancer. It's always a tough situation to be in. Not just physically, but emotionally as well. 4 years ago my own sister passed away from cancer. I never really had any photos of her. That's one of the reasons why I wanted to be a photographer, even if its just a hobby. That also makes our jobs as photographers important. The photos you take may not mean much to you, but it's the whole world for their loved ones. That's one thing I learned from Mike since joining TriCoast. And that's one thing everyone should remember when they click the shutter.

I know there are a lot of our own TPF members that have been touched by cancer. I'd love to hear your story as well. If you're comfortable, please share your story as an inspiration to us all.

[Goaliesgirl]

Such a beautiful girl. Thank you for telling her story.