Over the years, Lynne Goupil had driven her daughter to school so many times that it became like clockwork.
But as the Goupils pulled into the
Eldorado (Albuquerque, N.M.) parking lot on March 12, 2012,
Kiley Goupil was in no rush to get to class. Instead, the two sat in the car for a good 10 minutes, reflecting upon a journey that brought both moments of heartache and euphoria.
"This is what you've been waiting for," Lynne said to Kiley, a 17-year-old cancer survivor and backup junior post for the Eagles.
Kiley Goupil has returned to the gameshe loves after a battle with cutaneousEwing sarcoma.
Courtesy photo
And with that simple statement, the two broke down in tears. After all, Kiley was about to attend the first day of school of her sophomore year at Eldorado — and it was mid-March. Goupil had to be home-schooled for the first six months of her sophomore year as she underwent 14 grueling rounds of chemotherapy between June 2011 and January 2012 to treat cutaneous Ewing sarcoma, a soft-tissue cancer.
"That first day back at school was extremely overwhelming," Kiley said. "Everyone was looking at me because at the time I was still bald and my skin was extremely white, so of course I was going to stand out."
Kiley tells her story with such ease and grace, she almost succeeds in making her experience with cancer one notch above a living hell. Despite suffering from numerous body aches, headaches, severe bouts of fatigue and complications — she actually needed surgery to treat an infection on her lower back coming in the early stages of her chemotherapy treatments — she approached cancer with an amazingly positive perspective.
"There was no need to feel sorry for myself," Kiley said. "There were plenty of other kids (at the University of New Mexico hospital) who had it 10 times worse than I did, so I thought it would have been really selfish to throw a little pity party for myself."
Fueled by optimism, the Goupils attacked cancer with a proactive approach. To wit: Before all of her hair fell off from the chemotherapy treatments, Kiley decided to shave her head. In a show of solidarity, Lynne shaved her head, too.
Kiley and her mother, Lynne, becamecloser as Kiley recovered.
Courtesy photo
"It was a pretty nice day considering the circumstances," Lynne said. "When Rocky (Lynne's husband and Kiley's father) and I first got the news it was cancer, it was an absolute, horrible shock. One day you're sitting in a room and being told that your daughter has cancer, and you realize life isn't going to be the same. It was pretty devastating."
Lynne said she drew strength as she watched Kiley's resiliency throughout the punishing and at times torturous chemotherapy treatments. There were many nights when Kylie had to stay overnight at the hospital, and Lynne was by her daughter's bedside every step of the way. The two grew even closer — "My mom is also my best friend," Kiley said — through the experience.
"We tell many people that the circumstances were horrible, but what other parent gets to spend so much time with her child?" Lynne said. "She's an incredible kid who showed this amazing spirit."
Kiley also found comfort in her childhood friend, Courtney Nelson, who also had acquired Ewing sarcoma three years prior to the exact date Kiley got diagnosed.
"Luckily, I had a friend in Courtney who I could connect with because she went through the same exact thing I was going through," Kiley said.
Whenever things got really tough, Kiley turned her thoughts to basketball, the sport she first started playing at age 6.
The 5-foot-10 Goupil has put up modest numbers this season — she's averaging 4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game — for a solid Eldorado squad (10-6) that starts 5A District 2 league play next Wednesday against Manzano (Albuquerque).
But no matter what Kiley does on the hardwood, it will never measure up to what she's accomplished off the court by simply surviving.
Sometimes the path to glory is filled with obstacles that test the will and torture the soul. With grace and dignity, Kiley has channeled the emotional and physical pain she endured through her bout with cancer to gain a new appreciation on life. The human spirit is strong, and the girl who absorbed cancer's blows has grown in strength and maturity.
"Dealing with cancer forces you to grow up quick," Kiley said. "I became a lot more independent because of it, and I learned I'm a really strong individual."
Strong indeed.
