She's been there - time to give back

   Emily Brown hadn't ridden a bike for 10 years. And even if she'd wanted to, she would have had to lug a handful of 2-pound oxygen tanks with her.

   So why bother hopping on a bike now?

   Because this is no ordinary bike ride. The 22-year-old Colorado Springs woman is participating in this weekend's Courage Classic, a three-day race in the mountains near Copper Mountain, Breckenridge and Vail, to raise money for a cause near and dear to her heart: The Children's Hospital in Denver.

   "It's hard to explain how important the hospital is to me," Brown said. "I literally grew up in a hospital; I literally owe them my life."

   Diagnosed with cancer when she was 10, Brown spent much of fifth grade in hospital wards. On Oct. 22, 1997, after 10 months of treatment, doctors discovered that the cancer had spread - they found two tumors in her lungs. There was nothing more to do for Brown, doctors told her parents. They estimated she had three months to live.

   Brown stopped treatment, and her parents tried to spend Brown's remaining days doing all the things she wanted to do with her life on a quickened time frame. The family traveled to Las Vegas to celebrate her "21st birthday," sans alcohol and gambling. She bought a fancy dress and spent a magical evening in Denver at the theater with her parents to experience something akin to senior prom.

   It was a heartbreaking time, particularly for Brown's parents. During a Make a Wish trip to Disney World, while Brown went on the Dumbo ride with her father, her mother watched on a bench below, making Brown's funeral plans from a cell phone.

   But three months later, Brown was alive and thriving. After another round of tests, doctors gave the family surprising news: One of Brown's tumors was shrinking, and the second tumor had been a misdiagnosis.

   Brown resumed treatment, and only a few months after a prognosis of death, she was officially cancer free.

   She still has serious health problems resulting from her cancer treatment, however.

   "I like to call it the disease or treatment of the year," said Brown, rattling off a list of her health battles: kidney problems, heart problems and pulmonary fibrosis, which forces her to wear an oxygen mask during most day-to-day activities.

   None of it has slowed her down. She attended her real senior prom and spent a raucous 21st birthday with her family in Vegas. She also attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville for two years until she had to move closer to home because of health problems. She's now studying English at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

   Despite complications, Brown thinks her cancer has made her a better person.

   "It's taught me to appreciate everything in life, and not put anything off because you don't really know if tomorrow's going to be there for you," she said.

   Brown is helping others live out their lives as well. She celebrates every Oct. 22 - the day she received her terminal prognosis - as "Glad to Be Alive Day." She, her family and friends use the occasion to celebrate the gift of life, usually with a party.

   For the past 10 years, Brown has also sent out a "Glad to Be Alive" letter to a growing list of hundreds of friends, family, doctors, nurses and teachers. "Each year as I meet new people the list grows," Brown said. She's even had strangers ask to receive the letters.

   But lately Brown has been spending her spare time with her bike in tow, training with her team in Vail and other en route locations for the 157-mile Courage Classic. Though the strenuous training landed Brown in the hospital a few weeks ago with heart palpitations, she is confident she'll be able to compete at the event this weekend - even with a few oxygen tanks in her backpack.

   So far, Brown and her cycling team, Team Courage, have raised thousands for the hospital. But the money only begins to express how Brown feels about The Children's Hospital.

   "They don't just treat you as a body; they treat you as a whole person. They became my family, and when your family needs something, you don't turn away," Brown said.