~Olivia Jane Ceraolo~

Feeling cozy

My name is Olivia Ceraolo. I was born September 9, 1988, I am 16 years old. When I was 14 years old I was diagnosed with cancer on May 8, 2003. It is an extremely rare form called chondroblastic osteosarcoma. My tumor is located in the pelvic region on both sides of my illium and around my sacrum. I completed SEVEN rounds of chemotherapy at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. During that time it shrunk approximately 80%. I started radiation therapy at Shands Cancer Center as an outpatient in Gainesville, FL January 27, 2004 and finished March 5th, 2004 ( 6 weeks total). I had minimal side effects during radiation and according to several of my doctors, the tumor is now dying from the center. The nodules that had previously appeared in chest scans in my lungs, whether they were tumor or pulmonary emboli, have disappeared! So my lungs are clear. : ) I started more chemotherapy at Shands this time, and I have done 3 rounds here at Shands so far. We will be doing scans soon again and we will figure out where to go from there after talking with the doctors.
Recent scans have shown what they believe to be tumor in several new areas (Aug. 2004), please read the journal history to learn more.

~NEW UPDATES ARE ON THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE~
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“PAIN IS TEMPORARY. QUITTING IS FOREVER.”
-Lance Armstrong (One of my biggest heroes!)


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Cancer is like Rain

By: Olivia Ceraolo


cancer is like rain
it starts out soft and light
but it continues to increase
lightning and thunder
tearing the clouds apart
blanketing the light
the wind is screaming
the sky seems so angry
when ever will it stop

slowly the rain becomes a drizzle
quietly the thunder subsides
and the clouds are tied back together
by the friendly new wind
to let the sun peak through them
all is calm, all is right
for now the rain has slowed
and out jumps a rainbow


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Greatness is not in where we stand, but in what direction we are moving. We must SAIL. Sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it-but SAIL we must and not drift, nor lie at anchor! -Oliver Wendell Holmes

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May your kindness, O Lord, be upon us who have put our hope in you.
-Psalm 33

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“Missing This”
By: Olivia Ceraolo

I will get through this
Even though I think about
Everything I miss
Nothing seems to go right
And all I can do
Is sit and hold tight
No one understands why
I'm left confused
And ready to cry
I'm so frustrated sometimes
Makes me feel like
I was put in jail for a crime
But sooner or later
My battle will be over
And I will have defeated this
Sooner or later
I will be the one to miss

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THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO'S EVER SENT ME A CARD, GIFT, OR
NOTE. AND THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS VISITED, OR VISITS MY PAGE. I APPRECIATE IT ALL SO MUCH. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE LOVE AND SUPPORT YOU HAVE GIVEN ME. IT HAS TRULY GIVEN ME STRENGTH AND HOPE TO GET THROUGH THIS. GOD BLESS EVERY ONE OF YOU. LOVE AND PEACE. -O

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Trapped in a Space
By: Olivia Ceraolo


I am what is and what is not.
I am small but very big.
I am weak and very strong.
I hurt and I feel no pain.
I am falling, falling up.
I lay neither in the sky nor on the land,
I fall between the sea.
I feel so much and feel so little.
I am so deaf yet I can hear so well.
I am so far away but still right here.
I am what is not, and what is.
I am trapped in a space between death and life.
But I am protected. I am in God’s hands.

"My Message to You"

I wish that everyone could live a fuller life like I am now, but some people will never get to that point. I believe this is why we have people that are struggling; to teach others this important message, and remind everyone how sweet their life is, how beautiful it is. So that way, everyone who doesn't understand, can do their best at trying to live fuller. It's amazing how something so horrible can really bring all the people together, and how it fans the fire of love in their hearts. It reminds them to kiss or hug that someone, hold them tight, and tell them how much they love that person, or how important they are to them. In the last year I have become so much closer to my family and I have made so many new friends, and I am SO grateful to have them all. Life IS worth living, there is so much to do, so much to say, that a lifetime doesn't even seem like enough time.. That's why living the best you can each day really counts. Just remember to smile when you wake up in the morning, because each new day is a gift. You need to go about each day keeping that in mind. You're alive my friend!
What could be sweeter?

Love Olivia - June 2004



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THANK YOU FOR VISITING MY SITE, COME BACK AGAIN SOON! : )

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MY HOME ADDRESS:
2528 Witley Avenue
Palm Harbor, FL 34685

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******A link to my e-mail is listed below*****
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BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY NEW PAGE "OLIVIA'S LINKS" WHICH I HAVE
A LINK TO BELOW.*****

Journal

Sunday, September 9, 2007 6:51 PM CDT

I don't know what to say. I could say that the hurt has actually worsened instead of disappeared. I could say I've matured, that I know how to face the facts now, because they have grown so obvious, so sharp and cruel as I near the age she was, and need the relationship for more reasons. But the second one isn't extremely true. I still feel quite 11-and-a-half-ish. Because those were the last moments. So I still have the kid's pain, that inability to absorb, that self-centered sorrow that she never even got to see me grow up. I was me, but no, no- I wasn't.
I like being in high school. I like Ian driving me at six-forty. I like running with my friends at the cross-country practices. My classes are lazy and hard to find. I wish I was a sophomore already. Instead I'm fourteen, and Ian is seventeen. Ian plays football still. On one hand I'm psyched he's going to college in, what, eight or nine months- on the other it honestly makes me sad. Ian is very much my friend.
Nineteen. Isn't that the age everyone is in their prime? Olivia was always cool, always with that grace, as everyone says. Especially from my dorky perspective... Frankly, I don't like imagining what she'd be up to right now. It's depressing.
When there isn't any hope, should you hope for hope? I think so. Tonight, my family feels hopeless. Whether or not we are- well, I guess we'll find out tomorrow, when the alarm goes off.

Read Journal History

Hospital Information:

Shands at University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

Links:

E-mail Author: oliviaj@tampabay.rr.com

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