‘It’s probably nothing;’ How One Student Overcame Health Challenges
Student Success
Photo courtesy of Daisy Escatel
By CHLOIE CALDEMEYER/ Talon Contributor
Editors Note: This story contains some graphic images
“Probably nothing”
This “probably nothing” turned into something life-changing for Daisy Escatel.
For most of her life, Escatel, a UT Tyler student, has suffered from arthritis, which caused burning sensations in her hands. She also suffered from hypothyroidism, which led to a slower metabolism.
“This was my normal.”
“I wasn’t ever a pessimistic child,” Escatel said. “My sickness was an extra roadblock for me, but I wasn’t ever pessimistic. My parents didn’t allow me to be.”
As a child, she often was in and out of doctor’s offices. Grabbing the complimentary, “You-did-
so-good!” lollipop is a muscle memory for her.
One day she went in for her monthly checkup. This time the doctor checked to see how her thyroid was holding up.
“I had never noticed this discomfort before, so I ended up going to see a specialist,” Escatel said. “The doctor who felt the lump in my neck just told me, ‘It’s probably nothing,’ so in my mind I felt like this was normal.”
At age 18, Escatel was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, Category IV, meaning it was in an advanced stage and spreading. Doctors stuck four needles in her and told her they needed to remove her thyroid entirely.
Photo courtesy of Daisy Escatel
For two months after the surgery, she was on a strict diet and after that, she received radiation treatments.
“What’s the point of living? I have been sick my entire life.”
“Did God just put me on this earth to be sick?”
“Why me?”
In addition to all the stress of doctor’s visits and surgery, Escatel felt like “the world was closing in” around her.
Her dad told her over and over again the simple phrase, “You are strong. You will continue to be strong.”
Escatel found this comforting.
She decided that she was going to live life to the fullest if she was possibly only going
to be here for a short time.
After classes at Tyler Junior College, she enrolled in the University of Texas at Tyler.
“I continued to live.”
Despite the turmoil and health challenges she was experiencing, Escatel continued to attend college. She was determined to achieve something for herself.
A few months later, she had persevered.
After completing her last treatment, she was cancer free and filled with a rush of joy. Escatel felt alive again.
“In high school, I wanted to be a nurse and help people like me,” she said. “I found out I don’t care what the body does. So, I got into psychology during my last semester at TJC. At TJC, got into politics. I am now doing a double major. My hope is to analyze politicians and the media. I want to experience life.”
She will graduate in May of 2023 with a double degree from The University of Texas at Tyler
Escatel found that the will to live and see the world was what she needed to be on this Earth. She plans to do just that
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