A 麻豆短视频传媒 graduate is using photography as part of the healing process in his battle against cancer.
Chris Lyons, from nearby Waddy, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia during his first year of graduate school at Kentucky State.
Lyons underwent chemotherapy as a child when he was treated for childhood cancer. He was cancer free for a long time until he was diagnosed again in March 2019.
鈥淲ith half a semester to go of my first year of graduate school, I was determined to complete my classes even though he was in the process of completing three rounds of chemotherapy at the University of Kentucky Hospital,鈥� Lyons said.
Lyons said the University鈥檚 flexibility helped him continue working toward his goal.
鈥淚 was able to work remotely and finish that semester which I attributed to the family atmosphere at Kentucky State,鈥� Lyons said. 鈥淚 continually thought to myself, 鈥業鈥檓 thankful that my professors at Kentucky State were willing to work with me, because not every university, especially a larger university, would have been willing to help me.鈥欌��
Lyons鈥� journey with chemo wasn鈥檛 over yet.
鈥淚 was transferred to the Cincinnati Children鈥檚 Hospital in June 2019, where I began rigorous chemotherapy to prepare for a bone marrow transplant,鈥� Lyons said. 鈥淒uring my time there, I spent 10 days in the intensive care unit.鈥�
Lyons said getting back to Kentucky State and getting a real college experience helped him get through.
Lyons also found comfort in photography.
鈥淒uring my cancer treatments I was encouraged to get out and walk around the University of Kentucky鈥檚 campus and this is when I revived this passion (from childhood),鈥� Lyons said. 鈥淚 just started taking pictures of weird things I noticed, traffic cones in unique designs, funny colored fire hydrants, interesting buildings. This became part of my healing process.鈥�
Lyons said he wanted to share his healing experience with other patients. His work was eventually turned into a gallery exhibit.
鈥淭he UK Children鈥檚 hospital dedicated a space as a patient art gallery to encourage patients to embrace the healing power of photography,鈥� Lyons said. 鈥淢y gallery titled, 鈥淭hings I see,鈥� served as the pilot exhibit and will later be featured as a permanent stand-alone exhibit.鈥�
Lyons had words of encouragement for anyone who might be facing a tough time.
鈥淛ust keep pushing through it with a positive attitude,鈥� Lyons said. 鈥淚 have a quote by Marcu Luttrell that I wrote on the dry erase board the night I was diagnosed: 鈥業 can never forget that no matter how much it hurts, how dark it gets or how far you fall 鈥� you are never out of the fight.鈥欌��
Lyons is graduating with a Master of Science in environmental studies. His thesis research examined drone multispectral remote sensing of invasive plants, such as Amur honeysuckle, callery pear and autumn olive. His thesis was titled, 鈥淓valuating Spectral Properties of Invasive Plant Species in Central Kentucky Recreation Areas.鈥� Lyons recently accepted a job as a CADD technician with a Louisville civil engineering and surveying company called Qk4 Inc.