Carpe Diem. A toast to Chase Heller.

"When this entire mess started with me a little less than 2 months ago, I didn’t know what to expect. Am I going to die at 22 without doing anything I dreamed of in my life? Do treatment for years and have it fail like most. Do I get surgery and risk loosing feeling in my right side? Well, I chose the quickest option even though it was the riskiest (I chose Brain surgery). I found out last week my tumor WAS Cancerous at Stage 2. Brain Cancer at my age? Kinda tough to take in….but I’m glad I got it all taken out and now just have to be monitored. No one understands where or what I’m dealing with on a daily basis. Waking up from surgery not being able to move my right side was the scariest moment of all. Especially cuz I could feel everything but still couldn’t control it. Thinking it may never come back. But since then I’ve regained a lot of motion in my arm and leg and it’s only getting better.Not being able to walk without a brace or run around like most people sucks tho. Getting out of bed thinking everything is normal until I try and stand up and realize I’m not my usual self. I just want to get back on my paddle board and be out in the ocean. But I can’t. I realize the only thing I can do is be patient and it will come back. Until that happens even though It’s tough I just gatta have that mindset of looking forward, not backwards. Continue with my physical therapy 3-5 times a week. All I’m saying is, no one has to feel bad for me or anything like that. But think about it. Being in the hospital I saw people in even worse conditions than me. Forgetting who you are and can’t even speak from a stroke at 70. People having to restart and learn everything all over again at that age, It’s just not right. A 22 year old like me hangin at the beach with his friends. Decided to dive in the water but it wasn’t as deep as he thought and landed head first into the sand. Breaking his neck and paralyzing him from the neck down. Another boy was with his friends jumping off his roof into the pool like they always had. But this time his foot slipped before he jumped from the roof and his back landed on the edge of his pool. Breaking his spine at 16 years old. Also Paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of his life. Never again will he live the life he did. Seeing those people has helped me because I know even tho it’s ganna take time, I’m ganna be back to %100 sooner rather than later. It’s motivated me and even tho I struggle at times, I think of those people and I fight thru it. As should you, you and you. Just understand you can’t take 1 SECOND for granted and should live every moment like it could be your last. You never know in this life we live in. Hopefully you guys can take this and use it in your everyday lives, if your ever down or just need a tiny bit of inspiration. I’ve got some really exciting news for future plans, I’ll save it for later tho. Until Next time, Like Always *CARPE DIEM*" -Chase Heller, 24-hr-fun enthusiast. Brother of fires and childhood 2012.