Breathing Hope

By Kristie Kitto

"I'm not much of a crier," was Brayan Melgar's simple response to the question, "Do you ever get down to where you just break out crying?" Why am I asking him if he ever gets down? Brayan has lung cancer and isn't sure if it’s terminal yet, but he is hoping for an end to the suffering.

When he was two years old, he was diagnosed with lung cancer in Guatemala. Hershey Smiles Foundation sent him over to America to treat his condition when he was four. For two years of his life, he had a tube in his throat to help him breathe.

Maybe around the halls you have spotted a short, cute sophomore with glasses and always a quiet whisper. This student is Brayan Melgar, who many of us don't even realize has a life-threatening condition. Every three to four weeks, doctors cut out some of the cancer in his lungs with a laser. This is the reason for the whisper.

Many people think he is an inspiration, but others have no idea he is enduring anything of this size at all. Brayan doesn’t think people understand why he whispers, but he says, “It doesn’t bother me when people look at me strangely.” Since he has had lung cancer for such a long time, he is used to the glances after he speaks or the questions about his condition. He was very willing to share with others how he feels and thinks about his life and what he wants to do with it.

Brayan wants to one day become a doctor or a registered nurse. "Since I have been to so many [doctor appointments], I kind of like it now and want to help people who are going through similar problems." Going to the doctor is an experience for Brian that he doesn't mind, unlike most of us who dread it.

How inspiring is it that someone who is struggling in life wants to one day give hope to the hopeless? From all the doctor visits he said "I know how to put an I.V. in now." He also knows the terminology his doctors use and that will help him become a good doctor in the future.

"I have about 10 different doctors for all my different problems." When Brayan gets depressed, he talks to his doctors, who cheer him up by telling him about new medicines and treatments that have come out. He also goes to his parents when he worries and is able to talk it out with them, and he calm himself down.

When asked "how do you stay positive?" he replied "I just keep looking forward to the next day." That’s exactly what his friends say he does.

Sophomore Marco Delgado said, "Brayan changed my life by making me grateful for what I have, which is life."

Thomas Burdett also said Brayan had a positive effect on his life, "Brayan touches your heart because he looks on the inside, not the outside"

To those who may be dealing with things that are truly difficult, Brayan advises: "look at it as a new experience". About his lung cancer, he said “I didn’t look at it as a bad thing; I looked at it like a challenge.”