A Strange Gift...The Story Of Paige Armstrong by Charles White
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When Paige was only 10, she
complained of pain in her right leg just below her knee. The middle child of a
family of five, Paige and her family never dreamed of the journey that this
pain would lead them. As Paige underwent testing, it soon became apparent that
the pain wasn’t due to a pulled muscle or strained ligament. Instead, it was
from cancer. Paige was diagnosed with a
very rare form of bone cancer called Ewing’s Sarcoma. Only about 250 cases
are reported each year in the US and the survival rates are very high.
However, this didn’t make it any easier. Paige was forced to undergo
chemotherapy, a long hospital stay and a painful surgery, which Paige
explained in a recent post on JFH Blog. “…in addition to toxic
chemotherapies, I had to have five inches of my leg bone replaced with a
cadaver bone that was set in place with a metal plate and seven screws. As if
I wasn't already bionic enough, I also got a knee replacement a few years
later. Needless to say, I've got a pretty hefty scar to show for it!” The scars weren’t just
physical for Paige. Since the age of 4, Paige began performing in local
productions in her hometown near Philadelphia and quickly graduated to local
commercials. Soon, she was traveling to New York to do commercial work on a
bigger scale. However, cancer threatened to take that all away. “Any
invincible feeling I had about myself was shattered when I was diagnosed with
cancer,” Paige explained. “Everything was stripped away. I questioned. I
thought God was punishing me and it was definitely a growing experience for my
family, too.” Despite all of the emotional
and physical scars that came from this ordeal, Paige continued to push
forward. It would have been so easy for Paige to crawl up in a corner and give
up, but she didn’t. Instead, she triumphed and it was her family that gave
her the courage and strength to keep going.
However, Paige also admits
that it wasn’t just her family that helped her to overcome cancer.
It was her relationship with God that helped her to heal.
Faced with a very serious
illness and a difficult struggle, Paige eventually realized that she had
actually been given a strange gift. Not many of us would ever view cancer as a
gift, but this is exactly how Paige sees it. “Even if I could go back
and take away having cancer, even though it was an awful experience and I
still deal with it through different things, I wouldn’t change having it
because God has unleashed so many blessing and brought about my purpose. Now I
know what I am supposed to do with my life and I am so passionate about it.
Whoever thought so many good things could come from something so horrible.” God opened many doors for
Paige. During the darkest part of her illness, Paige was invited to submit a
request to the Make-A-Wish foundation. She was asked to record two songs for
an album and began making appearances at corporate events where Make-A-Wish
was supported. In 2005, Paige was given an amazing opportunity to record
several Christmas songs for a joint venture between the Make-A-Wish foundation
and Bath & Body Works, which she promoted on an appearance on NBC’s
Today Show. However, that is not the end
of the story of this extremely talented young woman. On October 6th,
2009, Paige will release her first album entitled, “Wake Up”. This amazing
album combines hard hitting rock and a strong emo sound woven together with
powerful lyrics and incredible vocals. However, central to this album is the
struggle to get up and never give up. “Wake Up. It really
encapsulates the message. We’re
all going through this
apathetic disease. Sometimes we struggle to care and we struggle to not
be apathetic about certain issues around us because we are so caught up in our
own lives. We forget that the world needs us to care.” “We all go through things.
Whether it is cancer or self-image problems or death of a loved one, we all go
through things that are like cancer was for me. If we hang on and if we trust,
He will work it out for good. He will turn it around for something absolutely
amazing somehow in your life.”
All photos
courtesy of Paige Armstrong |
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