El Paso teen battling cancer, lives out a dream of hers
EL PASO, Texas -- Most teens spend their Friday nights hanging out with their friends, but for Kaitlyn Llanez she spent hers living out a dream.
Llanez has spent the majority of her life in and out of hospitals. At just seven years old she was diagnosed with an extremely rare cancer called Adenocarcinoma.
“Being in the hospital itself can be challenging like the environment and as a teenager you want to experience teenage things which you don’t get to," Llanez said.
Just recently the 15-year-old was diagnosed with another form of cancer - gastric cancer. Which means lately she’s been spending even more time in the hospital.
While growing up in and out of hospitals hasn't been easy, it has allowed her to find her passion in life.
“I wanted to be a nurse but after going through my recent hospital visits I wanted to be a surgeon, I think it’s just a good career," Llanez said.
On May 20, Kaitlyn got the chance to learn from the Lifeguard 8 Air Medical Crew, take to the skies with them and see firsthand what their job encompasses - a dream come true.
Doctors say Kaitlyn’s cancer is advancing and they expect she’ll have some tough days ahead - and while there are no guarantees in life, one thing is for sure, she’ll always have this memory to look back on.
