A fighter and survivor

About a year ago, Mike and Cody got together with Eva and her friends for their Senior photos. Her photo stuck out in my mind, not just because she's a beautiful young woman, but also a three time cancer survivor. I'm not a writer or a journalist, but I wanted to share the day I spent with her.

Eva 2007.

Eva today.


A few weeks ago, the local chapter of American Cancer Society Relay for Life, contacted me to document the upcoming event. It's an event for those that have cancer, know someone with cancer and those that lost someone to cancer. The Relay for Life events are overnight, starting at 7pm and runs to 7am. Different intervals of the night symbolizes phases of the fight against cancer. The organization offered a spot to display TriCoast photos at the event. I immediately thought of Eva.



At the age of 14, Eva Schmidt was diagnosed with Adrenocortical Carcinoma, a rare form of cancer which forms on the adrenal gland. The mass that was detected was so severe, the doctors scheduled for surgery the next day. At the time of surgery, the cancer has been growing for at least a year. The cancer attacks the adrenal glands. Adrenal glands has a list of duties such as controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Eva was one of twelve known cases out of millions of cancer patients. Several of the other cases were reported somewhere in South America. The day after the surgery, the swelling had gone away.

Prior to the diagnosis, Eva lived a happy, healthy lifestyle. She's an avid tennis player and led an athletic lifestyle and diet. Her family has had no prior history of cancer. But even with proper exercise and dieting, Eva was gaining weight around four pounds a week. Her stomach was swelling up, and her face was getting puffy. She grew more fatigue as the days go by, and eventually started to sleep the day away. The doctors ran tests but found nothing conclusive and gave her a clean bill of health. Then one day, while using the bathroom, Eva seized up and fell to the floor. She was unable to get up and crawled for help. This time, her parents took her to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.



I met Eva at Hastings, a bookstore/coffee shop, in Lake Jackson. It was a quiet setting, until later in the afternoon, when patrons came in to order their frozen blended cappuccino. (Essentially, Frappuccino, but that's Starbucks registered trademark). The original plan was to do a phone interview, but I did not find it safe to do so in rush hour traffic and rescheduled. Later on the same evening, Eva sent a text message to see if I wanted to some of her bald pictures. Cody had mentioned to me that Eva got a new tattoo on her head. I wanted to see it for myself. We had conversed briefly the day before but I did not know what to expect. She came strolling down out of the "Art" section of full of life and wearing a big smile, the kind that makes you wonder what she had been reading. Eva Schmidt reminded me of a local pageant queen that just got off her limited edition Captain America Harley Davidson. Her head was freshly shaven and her tattoo, bright and vibrant, was an indication of her spirit.



Since that first operation, the cancer has came back twice. She has gone through over 8 different kinds of chemotherapy. Some are clinical trials which required Eva to document every day of her life. At one point, she has also tried radiation and has the pin point tattoo to show where the laser entered her body. The cancer has spread to her lungs and now to her heart. The doctors are afraid to operate, for fear that it would advance the cancer. The doctor told Eva to love everyone that she loves, prescribed her methadone, and then cried. Any normal person would probably have broken down. Eva shrugged it off and continued to enjoy life. She tells me about skydiving and traveling. At one point, we joked about "The Bucket List", and how we could get a ticket to Italy, Greece and some other remote locales.



I know Eva, not as the you woman with cancer, but rather the adventurous young girl with big dreams and a kick ass attitude. As I'm writing this, I know she's going through another round of chemotherapy. I could imagine in a week or two, she'll either be jumping out of an airplane or sailing out in the gulf. Or speeding through the county lines :)




- Jordan