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CAMP SABALU-HARRISON, Afghanistan – On a warm summer day in July 2010, U.S. Army Sgt. Jessica Echols, 18th Military Police Brigade, decided to go for a run to relieve some stress. While running she began to have problems breathing and also experienced excruciating stomach pain.
She was recently assigned to Germany and the doctors believed her problems were due to her not being acclimatized. After a couple weeks off she decided to try running again; this would change her life forever.
Echols was awakened by a total stranger after she collapsed on the side of the road. She received medical attention and numerous blood tests, which led to the removal her gallbladder in December 2010.
After a successful surgery, it was time for a follow up appointment at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. She believed her medical troubles were over but it was just the beginning.
The life-changing diagnosis
“The doctor came in and told me after the CT [computed tomography] scan they found massive tumors on my liver,” said Echols.
“For a moment, time stopped. I could hear the clock [in the doctor’s office] ticking and I couldn’t hear the doctor’s voice,” said Echols.
She asked herself. “Did he just tell me I had tumors on my liver?”
Echols believed the doctor was mistaken.
“You have the wrong person,” said Echols.
The doctor replied with, “Are you Jessica Echols?”
Reality hit and she immediately started crying when she realized she was just diagnosed with cancer. She learned that she had two tumors, one located on the front and one located on the back of her liver.
The tumor in the front was attached to an artery which interfered with the blood flow to her heart.
Two weeks after the diagnosis, Echols was admitted to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in the District of Columbia area to be close to her family. She would have to prepare for a life threatening surgery which the chances of survival were very slim.
“I just tried to spend as much time as possible with them. They were all praying for the best and were great supporters,” said Echols.
“The surgery has been performed six times and only 4 people have survived,” said Echols.
There was a 75 percent chance she could die on the operating table and Echols though about everything she wanted to accomplish in life and the military.
“I honestly thought I was going to die and that I wish I could have done a lot of things that I had always wanted to do,” said Echols.
A promise to fulfill
She wanted to pull through the surgery not only for family but for her fallen comrade Sgt. Princess C. Samuels of Mitchellville, Md. Echols, a human resource specialist, joined the Army Reserve in 2005 while attending college. She wanted to pursue an active duty career and joined her best friend Samuels in Fort Hood, Texas. The two were motivated to go as far as they could within the military ranks together.
While waiting to deploy to Iraq, Echols and Samuels made pact to continue their military service until retirement. Unfortunately, Samuels was killed in action Aug 15 2007.
While attending Samuels’s funeral, Echols promised her fallen comrade she would continue her military service and a make positive impact.
“I told her that I loved her and that I would continue to live life to the fullest for the both of us,” said Echols.
While in the hospital fighting for her life, Echols would pull through holding on to the promise she made with her best friend. In the company of her family, she would pull through the surgery.
“It just added to the fact that I knew I needed to fight and that I still had other things in life that I wanted to do; so giving up was not a choice,” said Echols.
Return to duty
After a successful surgery, Echols would need four months to recover before returning to Germany.
“I couldn’t sit up for a month,” said Echols. “I could only eat ice chips and Jell-O but I was happy to be alive.”
She slowly began physical training with walking and swimming. One day the pain in her stomach returned and she feared the worst. After another medical appointment in February 2012, another abnormal growth was discovered on her liver.
Fortunately, this was a noncancerous tumor and would be removed at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.
“I was so thankful the tumor was benign. I do not want to go through that surgery again,” said Echols. “Going through chemotherapy was one of the biggest challenges of my life.”
She fought a long battle to get cleared for a deployment. Echols was very determined to serve beside her fellow soldiers who were very supportive during her crisis.
I’m happy I was able to recover for all the surgeries,” said Echols. “I feel I’ve showed myself that I’m a determined person. I have so much more that I want to do in the Army.”
“I had two doctor appointments a week until I was cleared to deploy with my unit. My leaders here support me and I wanted to give back to them as well as my country,” she said.
Currently, Echols is cancer free and volunteered to deploy with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 18th MP Brigade, currently serving in Bagram, Afghanistan.
“My service to my country means the world me,” said Echols.
“I wanted to share my story and show people that you can overcome any obstacle. Cancer is very scary but you should never give up even if the odds are against you,” said Echols.
| Date Taken: | 01.07.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 01.07.2014 06:52 |
| Story ID: | 118886 |
| Location: | CAMP SABALU-HARRISON, AF |
| Hometown: | KAISERSLAUTERN, RHEINLAND-PFALZ, DE |
| Hometown: | WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, US |
| Web Views: | 185 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Sergeant overcomes cancer, deploys to Afghanistan, by SSG Tramel Garrett, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
