A life altering diagnosis tried to uproot his life.
Just over a year later, 19-year-old Adrian Lam will race in the 2024 Chicago Triathlon.
“I think I’ll be pretty emotional because of where I was last year at the exact same time,” said Lam, a former swimmer and water polo player at Naperville North High School who graduated in 2023.
“I think I’ll just feel really accomplished, really grateful and just really happy.”
The diagnosis of Burkitt Lymphoma forced Lam to halt training for last year’s triathlon. This year, he trains with the added motivation of raising money for the people who treated him.
“I think I owe a lot to (Lurie Children’s Hospital) to be alive today,” Lam said. “So, I want to help them out by raising money for the hospital.”
After receiving the initial diagnosis on Aug. 17 last year, Lam underwent six rounds of chemotherapy at Lurie Children’s Hospital.
“(Lurie) had amazing nurses to comfort me,” Lam said. “They had really good doctors that would tell me what the plan was.”
“I think what really helped a lot is treating cancer as a day-by-day thing, a stroke-by-stroke, a practice by practice,” Lam said.
Lam continues to ramp up his training for the triathlon on Aug. 25. As a former swimmer and water polo player at Naperville North, Lam holds a natural advantage in the first segment.
“In general, I think for most people, the hardest part of the triathlon would be the swimming portion,” Lam said. “But, since I’m a pretty confident swimmer, I don’t think that will be an issue.”
Lam hopes to finish the race in under three hours. Although he is comfortable in the water, Lam continues to work on running and biking, specifically the transition between the two.
Additionally, Lam continues to build endurance, a crucial aspect of training after regaining the weight he lost during his treatment.
Amid all the preparation, Lam’s battle with adversity allows him to keep things in perspective.
“Ultimately, what I learned from my whole cancer journey is that you’ve got to be appreciative of what you can do and what your abilities are,” Lam said. “I’m so thankful that I am able to walk right now, let alone run, or swim, or bike.”
With the race nearing, Lam strives to not only raise money, but to provide hope. Hope for those going through a similar experience.
“This nightmare is going to be over,” Lam said. “It can’t last forever.”
Lam’s online fundraising effort for Lurie Children’s Hospital, “AdrianFoughtCancer,” soared over its original donation goal of $5,000 and sat at $10,605 as of Sunday afternoon. Proceeds will go toward pediatric cancer research.
“It’s really heartbreaking when you see a little baby or a toddler who didn’t really know what’s wrong with himself,” Lam said. “He’s in the hospital and he’s missing out on some school, missing out on some important time in his life, important time in his childhood.”
“I think I considered myself pretty lucky too,” he said. “Especially because I had my parents by my side the whole time
“I want to give more support to the hospital so that they can help people who are even more less fortunate than I am be able to get through whatever they are going through,” he said.