Senior year. You remember that time. All the world before you, hit the top of the mountain, the world is your oyster…
“My first goal in life is to simply live.”
First goal is to live? No, that’s not supposed to be part of a young girl’s concern– one at the top of her game and ready to take on the world. But in April before her senior year, that is exactly where Ashley Scott found herself.
A starting pitcher on the LaVergne High softball team, Ashley was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastic cancer just weeks into the 2010 softball season — just over a year ago. Her team when hearing the news wrote on the board “Play hard for Ashley, and pray harder for Ashley.” Suddenly, life took on new meaning.
For Ashley, summer meant treatments to save her life. Her first day of senior year was spent in the hospital having the tumor inside her removed — as well as 40% of 3 ribs, part of her lung and diseased muscle. Fall and winter days were filled with one day, three day and five day chemo treatments.
And who is this survivor, the young woman that wrote “We are never promised tomorrow… but I thank God that I can laugh and that I can smile.” She is a young woman who with her softball team has done Ronald McDonald house service projects, participated in Relay for Life and sponsored two angels for the angel tree at Christmas.
But, her aspirations don’t stop there. Ashley plans to write a book about her fight to survive and get her master’s degree in Physical Therapy. Most recently, she’s started working with her Pastor to start her quest as a motivational speaker to raise awareness and funds for childhood cancer research.
