My name is Yug and I am 14 years old. I am a brain tumor (GBM) patient, which was detected in 2014. There were eight doctors saying that everything was normal, but with the recommendation for an MRI by the last doctor, the tumor got detected and my life completely changed.
My treatment is taking place in Brussels. I already had four operations whereas, during the last one, I went through an infected skeletal bone removal. I used to get five days of chemotherapy each month until September 2019, whereafter it got replaced by MEK (mekinist). I also had two radiography treatments with a duration of 45 days. I became half-blind and my entire right side got paralyzed during this journey.
Now, that’s not how I want you to know me, I am a lot more than my medical condition, that's just a fraction of what I am. I would hence like you to discover my other side as well, so let’s start again.
I am YUG. I live in Antwerp, Belgium. I am a student at the secondary school of Sint-Ursula, Antwerp. I’m known in my school for my extraordinary grades in math, but let's not brag about my grades because I'm terrible in French. I spend most of my free time jogging through the latest news regarding space, technology, science, psychology and the last but not the least, cars, yes, I am a crazy car lover, sports cars to be specific. I also love to play sports, unfortunately, my medical condition doesn’t support there, but I still do whatever I can. I would like to answer questions that are most frequently asked to me by doctors, school, classmates...etc.
What is a happy person according to me? According to me, a happy person is a person that knows its capabilities and strength. This person has someone or something that it really loves, but it also has a source of receiving love and support. According to me, it’s the feeling of thinking and caring for others and to be equipped with a gesture of giving compliments, joy, cheerfulness and positivity which makes others feel pleasant and happy. Am I happy, if yes why? Yes, I like to describe myself as a happy person, not only because I have all the materialistic possessions that I ever wanted, but also because of loads of other reasons. I feel lucky because I have had the opportunity to have some good friends and the best family one could have. They care so much for me that sometimes it even looks unreal and like a dream to me. I feel like a joyful person, also because I found my talent quite early, so I didn't have to waste time on other activities, I wasn't really interested in. These reasons add up to the fact that I'm grateful and thankful for the life that I have and for having the opportunities I always preached for. I would be lying if I'd say that I'm satisfied with everything about me, there are a few things which I'm not satisfied with. I would like to start with the fact that being far from my family in India sometimes drags me down, mentally. Another factor that supports that same idea of dragging down is that I have a small height and small feet compared to other kids of my age. I also can't do the physical activities like others of my age, it's because of my medical condition and hence is also a reason why I wouldn't say that I'm happy with everything about me, which I think no one is. If you could go back in time, what would you change and why? Nothing, I wouldn't change a thing and I don't regret any of it. I am pleased and satisfied with the life I got, I think that whatever happened with me medically, was destined to happen and I'm fine with that. I have cherished every single moment of my life and I believe that no life is perfect and thus every single life has its own ups and downs. We must learn to live with them. There are people living in worsen situations and circumstances and thus I'm grateful that I got what I wanted the most.
How should a person live according to you? I think that the most important thing is that, if you really want something then you should go for it and never give up. I also learned from my life experiences that you should never stop believing in yourself, but that doesn't mean that you should never make mistakes. I have made plenty of mistakes throughout my life and have learned something from every single one of them. I also see these days that the fear of failure is present in the vast majority of people around me, believe me, I've seen more failures in my journey than one of my age could imagine, but I've always stood back up, not in the hope that something might change, but just to satisfy myself that I never gave up. I always have found something positive in every single aspect of my life, I believe that if I can do it, then anyone can do it.
This could summarize the way I perceive the world and life. A life, which is full of beautiful, wonderful, thus priceless moments and memories.
I would like to take a moment to thank all the doctors, families and friends…😊
Smile, I’m smiling!
Yug Jariwala