Cancer fighter dreams of a merry Christmas

For this Yuletide season, Kimberly McCalla's foremost Christmas wish is to be able to eat all the delicacies, and to feel like herself again.

She is especially looking forward to it after ending 2021 in the hospital, following her September 16 diagnosis with stage four lung cancer. The 25-year-old had never smoked.

"Christmas in 2021 was so bad because I was so sick from chemotherapy. I did chemotherapy like two days before Christmas, so it was a horrible Christmas in a sense. This Christmas would be my happy Christmas in a sense because I am not on chemotherapy and so I am feeling a whole lot stronger. So this would be my first actual happy Christmas," McCalla declared.

But her Christmas just got merrier, as she was named a beneficiary of the Wish Upon a STAR promotion. She was among hundreds of applicants who vied for cash prizes of $50,000 being offered by NCB Foundation.

"I took a chance and when I got through, I was actually surprised. I was completely lost for words, I went with crazy faith," said McCalla, the excitement evident in her voice.

The funds will be used to assist with her treatment of targeted therapy, purchasing a set of recommended medicines that are sourced in India, as well as paying for her follow-up scans when she visits her oncologist at the University Hospital of the West Indies in January.

"I don't have to worry; I will just be preparing to do my follow-up scans. Getting this money now, I can put it down. So for Christmas, I don't need to worry. This $50,000 is like an ease to know that when that time comes, it will be sorted because THE STAR got me," McCalla said.

The cost of her medication stands at US$15,000 for three months' supply, after which it has to be replenished. "I am always in a state of anxiety," she said.

Still on a high from the news, McCalla said that she can't wait to indulge in a delectable ham sandwich, her preferred Christmas breakfast, and spending time with her family.

"I just want to feel like my old self a little bit and not worry about nutrition. I just want to eat and be happy, even if it is for one day, one day won't hurt," she said.

She reminisced that during her childhood in Spanish Town, St Catherine, she anticipated spending Christmas with her aunt, cousins and grandmother, and always enjoyed partaking in the family meal. It is one memory she is hoping to relive this year with her close relatives. For McCalla, Christmas is a season for love and to be surrounded by strong moral support.

"Love is what matters the most. Love can transcend any feeling especially for someone in my case where you are always on the brink of life and death. When you are surrounded by love, especially in the Christmas season, it makes everything better in a sense," she said.

The Jose Marti Technical High School graduate marked the start of December by releasing her memoir, I Found the Courage: Mastering Faith Through Sickness, Overcoming Life's Obstacles and Becoming a Brand New Me, which documents her journey battling epileptic seizures and cancer.

Her strength to battle her illnesses, she said, is garnered from God and the courage to be strong. She holds firm to the belief that she will overcome her challenges.

"I am giving persons the tools to actively build their faith, how to use what they have left to hone who they are and to be a better version of themselves. Going into the new year, this will be a great inspirational and motivational book to read. It is not for persons who are sick, but for men and women who have experienced afflictions in life," the graduate of Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts told THE STAR.