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BY
BREANNE MARTIN
In high school, the scariest things a student
should have to fear is not having a date to the prom, being
grounded for grades, or being late for curfew. March 2008,
Cassie Hines had a whole other out look on fear. Cassie was
diagnosed as the 14th case ever recorded with a rare
kind of Kidney Cancer. Her life, her friends’ lives, her
families’ lives all came to a halt and the things that a
teenager should have to fear suddenly didn’t seem so bad.
Cassie is an amazing soccer player, an outstanding
volleyball player, a shoulder to cry on, and friend that anyone would be
more than lucky to have. But most of all, Cassie is a fighter. So many
times you hear about people that shut the world out because of tragedy
and nothing scared me more to think that Cassie would change and not be
the same bright, fun-loving girl that she is. Instead, Cassie refused to
put anything on hold for more than a short period of time. She promised
her self and the ones who loved her that things would be back to normal
soon because anyone that knows Cassie knows that she loves to be where
the action is at. Knowing that summer was going to be filled with a lot
of hospitals and a lot of rest, Cassie promised that she would be able
to go to the first football game of the season. Cassie is one of the few
girls I know that actually went to Friday Night football to not just
socialize but to watch the game. Cassie was in and out of hospitals, and
one less kidney, a new hip, a few months and several surgeries later,
Cassie held her promised and was able to attend the first football game
of our senior year. Cassie came to volleyball Monday thru Thursday and
never missed a game. For most of the season Cassie was in a wheelchair
and I will never forget the first time I saw her take her first steps in
months. Witnessing her on going fight didn’t make me sad, it made me so
proud and so lucky to have a friend who refuses to give up and refuses
to let obstacles keep her down. Even though Cassie couldn’t play during
our final season, she was the best teammate anyone could ask for and
encouraged our team more than anyone could have imagined.
Cassie never let any of us be afraid for her. I cannot
count the number of times that I would actually cry to Cassie about her
situation and she would have to comfort me. If ever she saw me start
tearing up she immediately would smack my arm and tell me to knock it
off and everything will be okay. I truly believe that everything happens
for a reason. I have never met anyone as strong as Cassie, nor have I
ever met anyone with so much faith. Cassie and her family took a
terrible situation, and put it in God’s hands and were completely at
ease with the fact that God will see them thru this. A year later,
Cassie hasn’t given up and refuses to let this interfere with her life.
Cassie is a fighter and will continue to fight until she beats this
unfair battle.
Cassie will be attending Michigan State in the fall.
Everything she has been thru, Cassie is still Cassie and no one deserves
this scholarship more than she does. Cassie is a role model to all and
anyone can look up to her. She has showed me that with courage,
strength, the support from family and friends, and faith, anything is
possible and miracles can happen. I can’t even begin to imagine what
high school would be like if I wasn’t friends with Cassie, and even if
as time passes we grow apart, Cassie will forever be my teammate, my
best friend, my rock, my hero.
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