Peyton Gully: Finding the Joy in the Pain of Her Cancer Battle
When Peyton Gully was a sophomore in high school, her life was filled with a rigorous academic schedule, cross country races, and lacrosse games. She spent her time studying for math tests and running miles at a time. She was a normal teenage girl and her life was going as planned. Nearing the winter time of her sophomore year, Peyton’s quick feet began holding out on her and persistent headaches became unbearable. At a certain point, Peyton was so weak she had trouble moving; this is when she knew she had to seek medical attention. To Peyton's surprise and “utter disappointment,” this once healthy girl had been diagnosed with Mixed Phenotype Acute Leukemia, a disease which includes two types of Leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Her rare disease was cause for immediate treatment and within the next few months, Peyton’s life transitioned from that of an active and busy teenager to spending her time in a hospital bed receiving chemotherapy, full-body radiation, and a bone marrow transplant. Peyton’s body fought hard and relentlessly, and after recovering from a bone marrow transplant that broke down her entire immune system, Peyton was in remission. But, just 100 days after her bone marrow transplant, a bone marrow biopsy revealed Peyton’s cancer had returned. Her glory had faded far too soon and she was back receiving treatment. While her cancer was already extremely dangerous due to its rare nature, having relapsed so quickly left her doctors without a planned treatment to follow; her chances of survival were slim. The only answer was another bone marrow transplant, and having known the difficulties of this procedure, Peyton was dreading this second round more than ever before. But, Peyton being the strong and relentless fighter she is, persevered through her second bone marrow transplant. A year and a half following her initial diagnosis, Peyton was finally cancer free!
For many patients, a disease like cancer becomes a part of their life they reflect on with hate and anger. But contrary to this pessimistic view, Peyton Gully considers her experience battling cancer as a “blessing” for all it taught her about who she is, what is truly important to her, and what she wants for her future. Peyton has been able to overcome her cancer with such grace that she is able to identify the beauty in her battle. Because of all the things Peyton did learn through it, she now feels that she would not change having cancer for the world. Her positive attitude to her journey can be in part attributed to the role God and Jesus Christ play in her life. As a devoted worshiper of the church and the Lord, Peyton believes that the Lord gave her this experience to show her new things about herself and God; despite the many ways the disease has plagued her, she is grateful for lessons and opportunities she would have otherwise not gotten. Looking back on her treatment, despite all of the physical and emotional pain, Peyton primarily remembers the joyful moments ‘because there really were so many.”
This immense sense of gratefulness not only for God's role in her survival, but the wonderful work of her dedicated doctors and nurses has led Peyton to want to be an oncology nurse. For all childhood cancer patients, the work and love from one's nurses can truly alter the entire treatment journey. Nurses have the great ability to make a patient feel loved, and like a “normal kid” during such a devastating time in their life. For Peyton specifically, her nurses vastly transformed that year and half of her life, as she was able to, “form so many deep relationships with nurses that were so selfless and while it was their job to care for [Peyton], it felt like more than that; they went so out of their way to care for [her] and make [her] feel loved and known despite [her] circumstances.” Being able to see how impactful a nurse's work could be on an individual patient in making them feel like a person, rather than their cancer, inspired Peyton to follow in the footsteps of her wonderful nurses at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Having her own experiences fighting cancer, Peyton believes her understanding of her patients will help her to be a compassionate, loving, and impactful nurse. She hopes one day she will be able to make a kid battling cancer feel known for the person they are not just known as the kid with cancer.
When you really think about Peyton's story, her ability to persevere and love the world despite the hand it has dealt her is incredibly remarkable. Peyton was forced to spend a year of her life strapped in a hospital bed, receiving treatment that no one should ever have to endure, all while she watched her peers go to high school and do things that not only did she love, but she was great at, like academics and lacrosse. Peyton was faced with cancer not once, but twice. Despite these drawbacks, Peyton was able to graduate high school with her original class and today, Peyton thrives as a student at one of the top colleges in the United States, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. She spends her time working hard to get into nursing school; surrounding herself with her friends; and. prior to COVID-19, joining in many childhood cancer groups at school, such as Dance Marathon. Peyton’s story and unbreakable devotion to greatness should act as a guide to what it means to find the best in any hardship. Peyton was handed a disease of pain and agony and reacted to it with strength and prosperity. Peyton will forever have to endure the many side effects of her treatments, but there is no doubt that she will continue to thrive in all aspects of her life. The kids she will help treat in the future will be lucky to have such a passionate, intelligent, kind, compassionate, and loving nurse to make them feel known. It is clear that Peyton is just getting started with leaving her mark on the world.
By Ruby Kaufman