Written by Gary Ryan Griffin
Ryan Wilson is a returning freshman at Harding University, but only seven years before coming to Harding he started having sharp pains in his right leg and knew something was wrong.
After three doctors diagnosed the same ailment – that his discomfort was simply growing pains — Wilson was sent to one more doctor who told him something different.
He had cancer.
Wilson was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma, a form of cancer that is most commonly found in teenage boys. The doctors found the tumor in the right midsection of Wilson’s body, and it was so close to his spine that surgery was too risky.
For the next six months, Wilson underwent chemotherapy, and two of those months included additional radiation treatment.
At home in between treatments, Wilson spent his time either on the couch or in bed.
“I broke a sweat even getting up to go to the bathroom,” Wilson said.
His parents, extended family members and even elders of his church prayed on his behalf. After six months of the treatments, the doctors said the tumor was reduced to one-quarter the size that it was, and it was dormant.
For the next month, Wilson spent one hour a day in physical therapy due to the amount of muscle loss in his right leg. He said he looks at that time in his life as a growing experience.
There were times during those months when Wilson said he did not understand why God let this happen to him, but he came to the conclusion that “to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
As a young Christian boy, Wilson was tested more than a lot of people go through a lifetime, but he said he thanks God for getting him through that time in his life.
Today, Wilson’s tumor remains dormant.
