At 22, you feel invincible.
You feel extra invincible when you’re in the shape of your life, and on track to one of your many goals. Gabrielle Neilan was on track to compete in the Miss Oregon USA pageant.
Then she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and ended up under the knife two weeks before taking that stage. And guess what? It didn’t stop her!
Here’s what she said about the subtle scar on her neck, and the journey she’s been on:
“It’s my strength. You can hardly notice it. It’s like a fat roll on my neck.
I woke up with a lump on my throat. It hurt so bad. It felt like I was swallowing an apple every time I was swallowing. It’s hard because you go through something like that and then you think of the little things in life and you realize they’re not really that big a deal, so don’t stress on it. It’s been rough, honestly, the whole journey getting here. I went through two surgeries before my state pageant. Then in January I went through radiation. It’s been up and down but I’m finding the positive at the end of the day.”
She’s no in remission!
Not a moment too soon, too — she’s about to take the Miss USA Pageant stage in Vegas:
“The timing is perfect.”
We’re so happy she was able to find the strength to get through AND beat this thing — and all we can do is wish her luck this weekend!
She’ll do just fine, we know it!
[Image via Twitter.]
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