SEGUIN, Texas — A Seguin High School senior is happy to be home. Jaila Castro is in remission after being diagnosed with cancer at the beginning of the year.
The 17-year-old spent the first day of 2020 in the operating room, undergoing several procedures that drained more than two liters of liquid from her left lung. After a biopsy of a mass, doctors diagnosed Jaila with Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Over the last five months, Jaila has been able to stay positive and smile through six rounds of chemotherapy.
"I would say, like, a test of my mental and my physical strength and my faith," Jaila said of her experience. "It was a lot."
On Saturday, she reached the finish line, celebrating her remission surrounded by those who cared for her at Methodist Children's Hospital.
"I rang a bell and all the nurses were there congratulating me," Jaila said. "It felt awesome."
When Jaila got home, her friends and family paraded by her house. From their cars, they honked and waved, and also dropped off gifts and balloons.
"Even though we couldn't physically hug, it meant a lot," Jaila said.
Due to her treatment, Jaila knew she couldn't go back to school. She didn't expect her friends to end up in the same position due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
"I knew that I would miss out on those important moments of my senior year, like graduation and decision day," Jaila said. "But I told myself, 'It's OK, because the rest of the Class of 2020 will, my friends will.' Now they're not, so it just makes it a little more sad."
Jaila encourages her classmates to look on the bright side. She said this bump in the road shouldn't steal their joy.
"There's nothing we can really do to change it, so we might as well celebrate how we can at home," Jaila said.
Jaila is now looking forward to the future. She's already applied to a few colleges and plans to tour them as soon as she's able to do so.