John

Let me start out by saying, love Child’s Play and video games. Video games have always been an important part of my childhood and have over time shaped me into the current person that I am.

When I was a teenager I was diagnosed with Burkitt's Lymphoma. I spent a lot of time in the hospital on a bed. I didn’t have the energy to move around and be active so I needed something to keep my mind occupied. So my father’s co-workers all pitched in together and got me a Gamecube and Gameboy Advance. That was probably the best gift I had ever received and I got it at the exact moment I needed it the most. Instead of focusing on the treatment I turned my focus to the game. It helped me escape the current world I was in and allowed me to feel like a normal kid again. That gift did so much more for me then just distract me, it impacted my personality and character. If I had not had that then I’m sure once my treatment had finished I probably would have been a completely different person with a different look on life. Instead, I’m more optimistic, generous and an overall happy person. It’s actually sorta funny when I think about my treatment the only things that sticks out to me is playing games and joking around with my friends.

Fast forward a couple of years later, I’m a college student studying Computer Science in the hopes that I can learn the skills needed to be able to make video games. One day I’m wandering around the internet and I find a site called Penny Arcade and I start watching the first season. I then stumble upon the Child’s Play episode and once I had finished the second episode I was so emotional that I had to find out more about the charity. I instantly fell in love with the charity and the people at PA for doing what they are currently doing. The stories people have on the site remind me of when I was in that situation. I understand from the side of the person receiving that gift how important it was for me at the time. Child’s play is making the lives of sick kids everywhere better by what they are currently doing.

Currently, right now I’m a new college grad working at a software development company and I’ve been cancer free for the past 8 years. With my first ever paycheck I decided to donate $100 of it to Child’s Play in the hope that it’ll impact someone else life as the way it had impacted me. I'm looking to become a game developer so that I can make games that enrich peoples lives like it has mine.

Child’s Play is a wonderful charity that shows how the gaming community can do great things and I love that fact that I can be a part of that community.

John, Childhood Lymphoma Survivor