<p>Hello Bago-readers, I hope that all of you are having a great day. Today, I&#8217;m not going to write a rant about stupid decisions that companies make or even speculate about the future of consoles. Instead, I want to connect with you guys on a personal level, in hopes that what I say will maybe inspire or even change opinions on a form of media that we so love.</p>
<p>Lately, I have been going through a lot of personal problems, and while talking to a friend, it was suggested that I write them out. I pondered for a second and figured, what&#8217;s the point of just typing away, only to delete it later. That was when I decided that I wasn&#8217;t going to type something out for myself, but instead, write something out that can be read by others and hopefully spread a message of hope and inspiration. But first, let me give a small background check on me. I have brain cancer; I was diagnosed at the tender age of 4, on I believe October 17th 1993. However, the first signs of cancer that my parents noticed was when I was 2, yet many complications led to a two year battle with doctors until I was formally diagnosed. Now you might ask, why am I writing such a thing on a gaming site, and you know what? The answer is quite simple. Many people have labeled video games as mindless violent things, that when used, give inspiration for disgusting actions. Well, I&#8217;m here today to tell you that gaming has actually helped me a great deal on my road to recovery and I&#8217;m writing in hopes of maybe providing some comfort to those going through an illness. Hopefully I can educate and bring light to gaming as a source of good, and not evil.</p>
<figure id="attachment_43003" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-43003" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://bagogames.com/cancer-games-medical-beginning/lniks-awakening/" rel="attachment wp-att-43003"><img class="size-full wp-image-43003 " title="Cancer, Games, and Me - A Medical Beginning screenshot 1" alt="Cancer, Games, and Me - A Medical Beginning screenshot 1" src="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/06020933/Lniks-Awakening.png" width="300" height="270" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-43003" class="wp-caption-text">I remember when I found this sword. I was so frigging happy that I finally got to kill those monsters that kept chasing me! Ahhh, nostalgia</figcaption></figure>
<p>Take me for instance. After I was operated on for my cancer, I was in very rough shape. Apart from having a grape-fruit sized mass removed from my 4 year-old cranium, I suffered massive damage to normal functions that an average person would take for granted. I had to relearn how to walk, talk, and socialize. Even to this day, I&#8217;m still rather socially hindered, and can be described as having social anxiety which leads me to retreat and be a hermit. One thing that had been really hit hard though was my hand-eye coordination; I lacked it completely. Think of it this way: if Rock Band and Guitar Hero were out back then, I would have a .01% success rate on easy. My brain and body refused to work together and communicate; it was like a married couple arguing. The original Game Boy had released a few years before and my parents had picked it up for me. Along with my Game Boy, they also purchased <em>Zelda: Link&#8217;s Awakening, </em>and I absolutely loved that game. After awaking from a manually induced coma, I was eager to play <em>Zelda.</em> I was a dedicated gamer, even at that age.</p>
<figure id="attachment_43018" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-43018" style="width: 200px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://bagogames.com/cancer-games-medical-beginning/young-link-majora-s-mask-the-legend-of-zelda-32057969-420-630/" rel="attachment wp-att-43018"><img class="size-medium wp-image-43018 " title="Cancer, Games, and Me - A Medical Beginning screenshot 2" alt="Cancer, Games, and Me - A Medical Beginning screenshot 2" src="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/06020923/Young-Link-Majora-s-Mask-the-legend-of-zelda-32057969-420-630-200x300.jpg" width="200" height="300" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-43018" class="wp-caption-text">Fun Fact &#8211; It wasn&#8217;t until Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64 that I realized this was Link, and not Zelda.</figcaption></figure>
<p>One day, the doctor came in and saw me playing <em>Zelda. </em>My mother immediately looked at him with a look of worry on her face. She thought she was doing something wrong, allowing me to play a video game and over-stimulate my brain shortly after such an operation. She apologized. I&#8217;ll never forget my doctors response to her for as long as I live.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s good that he&#8217;s playing his Game Boy; it will help recover his coordination and the communication between his brain and hands&#8221;</p>
<p>From that day forward, my parents have not stood in my way when it came to gaming. Well, except for when I had homework that needed to be done, but hey, that&#8217;s parents for you.</p>
<p>The point that I am trying to make is this: video games don&#8217;t breed hatred and aren&#8217;t mindless. They actually help on so many levels and in my case, they helped a boy that seemingly had no hope for a fulfilling life after such devastation to his brain. It was because of memorizing how the buttons were positioned, and pressing them to execute an action in-game, that helped improve my coordination. I have more tales concerning my cancer and how gaming as helped me, but that&#8217;s for another article. So, expect to see more cancer-related articles in the future in this mini-series I&#8217;m calling &#8220;Cancer, Games, and Me&#8221;.</p>
<p>Hopefully, I can inspire people who are also going through difficult times. There is always a way to beat something. No matter how much the odds don&#8217;t favor you, you can always prosper. Remember, there is always a solution to each puzzle and no matter how hard a boss may be, there is always a certain strategy that will ensure that it is beaten. Till next time folks, stay classy, love gaming, and I will see you in the next article!</p>
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Cancer, Games, and Me – A Medical Beginning
- Categories: Opinion
- Tags: LinkNintendoThe Legend of Zelda
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