At the age of 2 years I had a nerve biopsy taken from my ankle; this found that I had a neurological condition called Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT). CMT is said to be a hereditary condition. CMT causes damage to the peripheral nerves resulting in wasting and weakness of the extremities (feet, lower legs, hands and forearms). This so rare that only one in every 300 million people has it.
I live with my mum and dad, I have no other siblings, I've lived in Mosgiel (20mins out of Dunedin) all my life where I attended primary and secondary school. I was brought up with the same values as everyone else and I never felt I couldn't do anything.
From then on, I had to get used to having constant physiotherapy and health care input. Ever since I could walk I had to use a walking frame, then around 12 years this changed to crutches. Now I use a manual wheel chair and sometimes an electric one to further increase my independence.
At 13, I was diagnosed with Scoliosis. Scoliosis is an abnormal curvature of the spine. I had to have a 6-hour operation and further assistance from health care professionals. Then at 20 years, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. I then went through chemotherapy then 3 months of treatment - that's when CanTeen became apart of my life. Cancer was the best thing that happened to me because I became a CanTeen member!
Present day - I'm enjoying going to the gym four times a week, doing karate and learning self defence skills and I'm an active member of the CanTeen Otago committee.
I am really pleased to support the charter of rights for young people with cancer. When I was going through my treatment it was important to me that I was fully involved in key decisions. It is vital that young cancer patients feel they are empowered and are not just helpless victims of an illness.