The first thing people tend to notice about senior Alexis Lindsey is her hair — or lack thereof, to be more accurate. But in actually meeting her, what draws attention isn’t the illness that threatened her life mere months ago, but the glowing smile stretched across her face. Alexis takes a seat in the library, and the hush settled between bookshelves is broken only by the loudness of her enthusiastic voice. As she begins to share her journey to remission, it quickly becomes evident that it is not one of tragedy and despair, but one of victory.

“I was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin’s lymphoma May 5th, 2016,” Alexis said. “It was a big change. I was out of school a lot, and I wasn’t able to focus and do my work like I usually was able to.”

Although rare, Hodgkin’s disease is a type of cancer that wreaks physical havoc throughout the lymphatic systems of its carriers. Alexis was diagnosed after developing tell-tale symptoms such as exhaustion and fevers. She aimed to maintain a sense of optimism despite the devastation that shook her family and friends.

“They reacted in shock, [though we] always thought that maybe it could be cancer,” she said. “But I didn’t really overthink it. When people hear that they have cancer, they’re like ‘oh okay, I guess this happened.’”

The teachers and administration at GHS were cooperative in meeting her needs, yet Alexis spent less time in school as her case progressed and more time battling her illness in various hospitals. Her treatment at Central Dupage Hospital lasted nearly three months, wrought with the difficulties of chemotherapy.

“When I was going through chemo, I couldn’t get out of bed some days. I’d just lie there because I [didn’t] know what to do,” Alexis said.

Coping with deteriorating health was often a challenge, but Alexis responded with the one thing she knew could keep her going.

“For me, personally, I knew I had to keep my humor in tact. Otherwise I would just go crazy!” she said. “I think it helped a lot going through treatment because you don’t have any energy to do anything, so you’ve gotta keep yourself occupied in other ways.”

Humor wasn’t the only fuel for a positive state of mind during treatment. After learning of Alexis’ diagnosis, a handful of her close friends made the extra effort to support her.

“They actually made me a video the day I went into surgery. So before I went in, my mom showed it to me,” Alexis said. “I realized that even though we weren’t really, really close-knit, now I think we are because I know that they’ll be by my side if anything happens.”

The staff at Central Dupage Hospital worked hard to lift Alexis’ spirits as well. She remembers them with a distant, fond look in her eyes.

“The nurse I had for my first chemo I remember specifically,” she said. “I had just had my surgery to put the port in my chest […] and one of the nurses — her name was Amanda — was just amazing. I met a lot of the nurses that worked down there and they were all fabulous.”

The support from friends, family, and hospital staff all led up to the turning point in Alexis’ condition.

“I entered remission September 2nd, 2016,” she said immediately, the date falling from her lips with a triumphant grin. “I was just ecstatic because it’s over!”

Alexis has come out of this experience with a positive outlook, “Before I had my illness, I was very shy and reserved, and now I don’t really care what people think of me. Especially when I got my hair cut off, I was like ‘oh, what will people think of me?’ But I realized that I cared more about losing my hair than anyone around me.”

And she has big plans to match her dauntless personality, “I am actually going to college for nursing at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. My dream is to work at St. Jude’s Hospital.”

Alexis’ dream is to help others going through periods of suffering. She knows the struggles of illness firsthand, as well as how incredible it is to overcome it. Her humor shines through when asked if there’s something people should know about those who suffer from major illness.

“When I was going through treatment, you hear all those sayings, you know — ‘be strong,’ ‘you can do it,’” she said with a chuckle. “People [should] know that once you get the ball rolling, you shouldn’t say that anymore because it drives [us] nuts!”

It’s clear that Alexis’ future is bright, and the lives she impacts will no doubt appreciate her positive outlook (and repertoire of jokes). Despite the malicious obstacles of Hodgkin’s disease, Alexis refused to sacrifice who she was.

“I powered through it because I was like, ‘I can do this.’” she said.

Yes, she can.