My Life

In a remote village in Atlanta Georgia, on the Christmas Eve of 1997 Mr. and Mrs. Roby received their bundle of joy. A healthy bouncing baby boy was delivered in our lady hospital and they named him Johnson parker; afterwards his friends nicknamed him ambassador.  This is the name I am known by unlike my biological names. I lived the name and I am currently the cancer ambassador for the Generation three against cancer group, I am also the teen’s favorite footballer currently playing for Nottingham Football club. I am telling my story to motivate and challenge the young and even the old people who have not lived up to  their dreams and tell them to hold on to their dreams as it is never too late to dream. My dad was a mason while my mum was a casual laborer in the estates around our home; my dad was in the military and he resigned after his leg was injured during an ambush in the war. He devoted his entire savings to educate us and providing for the family. I was the third born in a family of five.  My elder brother was in high school and he was a very good musician; He is still a musician currently in the famous Tiger band. He was the one left in charge of the family when our parents were off to work. One day he was left in charge and he decided to teach us how to swim in the local river he carried all of us in a cart and took us to the nearby river. Our youngest sibling was two years old then and she almost drowned. God knows how dad dealt with us; he was a very strict disciplinarian who didn’t allow us to be an undisciplined lot. Life was generally good until a tragedy came knocking, I was a very healthy young boy very active in school especially in the pitch and very talkative boy. A pimple appeared on my hand and as usual I would scratch it and the itching would disappear, the pimple busted open forming a wound and I thought I would heal. It then turned into pain and agony after the pimple turned to a wound. I was taken to the hospital where it would be dressed every now and then but it never showed any signs of healing. On the fateful afternoon of 9 August 2005, my dad was involved in a site accident which took his life, my life and that off my siblings broke into shutters. The mysterious disease was quickly draining my health and the finances too, after the demise of my father life took a u turn from good to worst. My mum wouldn’t not afford the school fees and still afford my medication; my siblings dropped out of school to at least pave way for my medication. The hell broke loose when I was diagnosed with cancer, I for a moment thought am going to die the next minute and give up my dream of becoming a star in footballer or a pediatrician. I really prayed to God for a second chance in my life so that I can make an impression on the world. Luckily for me my cancer was diagnosed in its initial stages and with extensive medication and chemotherapy I was recovering very well, but this was not a guarantee I would heal until the doctors run their last tests and gave their much awaited observation that I was free from cancer. The local football team and well wishers were able to raise my medical bill and I was released from the hospital. I saw that as the second chance I was haggling for with God and there and then I decided that I will live my life for others too.  But when I was out of the hospital the problem was integrating with the community as they were making fun of me calling me names. For instance, they called me the shaolin; the Chinese men who shave their head bald due to their religion. This baldness was a result of the cancer treatment. We became withdrawn since we never went to school and we spent most of the time helping our mother in her odd jobs. The only choice left was selling our home so as to get some money to help us out, the kids at school were all making fun of us but the determination I had in my heart to make it in life was like a fire burning up in me. I wanted to make sure I live my passion and still help people out who think they are worthless. I formed the generation three cancer group in a bid to raise the awareness on cancer which received a major lift after it got an endorsement from the cancer society. The group which consists of people affected by cancer or cancer survivors has its main goals as; impacting positively to the patient by showing them that cancer is not a death sentence while training others on good lifestyles to avoid the disease.  I have also played a lot of charity matches to raise funds for settling medical bills for patients. Despite that I was sick and my life was almost coming to abrupt end, I was able to make a turnaround and better my life and that of my family.  Therefore, I would like to urge each and every one of you to take control of his or her life. To stop listening to the discouragers and .face them with courage and let them see you disappears on the horizon away from them as life is an uphill marathon do not anticipate a sprint. Similarly, service to man is service to God we should help other when they call upon us.

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