A cancer survivor has gotten her wish, and she’s using it to make an impact on her health.

Tierra Stokes is cancer-free, and she’s not looking back after receiving her longtime wish of getting healthier and losing weight. On Oct. 1, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Mississippi gave her a two-year membership to a Vicksburg gym, Shape Up Sisters, plus a personal trainer and six-month supply of food from a national weight-loss program.

“This is what I really wanted,” the 18-year-old Stokes said. “I don’t want to hurt anymore, and I don’t want to be overweight anymore.”

At 5-foot-1 and about 200 pounds, Stokes said her weight was brought on by medication she took when she was a child.

Her wish, Make-A-Wish officials said, is not typical.

“As far as I know, this is possibly the first time this kind of wish has been granted,” said program manager Beth Holmes.

Children usually wish to meet a celebrity or go to a theme park, something Stokes had thought about.

“At first, I decided on Disneyland, but I knew I wasn’t going to be happy or comfortable,” she said. “So I switched and changed my mind in August to something that would get rid of this weight. They surprised me with the wish because I didn’t think they would go that far and do so much for me.”

Her wish didn’t come easy. She was declared eligible for a wish by the foundation once she was diagnosed with cancer at age 11. But, her wish wasn’t granted until seven years later, due to incomplete paperwork and follow-ups.

“I was 11 and, one day, I woke up paralyzed from the waist down,” Stokes said. “I kept falling down before that.”

She was diagnosed with a type of cancer called chondrosarcoma, a cartilage-based tumor, which had affected her spinal cord. She had two tumors removed and was hospitalized for more than a month. During that time, she also had to learn to walk again.

She is in remission for that cancer, but, in February, she was diagnosed with another type, thyroid cancer,.

Despite the odds, Stokes obtained her GED at age 16 and enrolled at Hinds Community College in Vicksburg to study graphic designing. But, after a year, dropped out due to physical problems. She hopes to return someday.

Stokes is married and has two children — Lailah, 3, and Izzy, 1.

She is working out on her own for about an hour a day, five days a week, and a couple of times a week with a personal trainer. “I thought I wouldn’t be able to do it and thought it was going to be hard, but it’s fun to work out,” Stokes said.

Her eating habits have changed, as well. “I haven’t bought butter in three weeks, and I don’t put salt in anything anymore. For the first time, I ate my salad with only two tablespoons of light dressing. I also eat fresh fruit and veggies.”

Stokes hopes her story motivates others.

“If I can do it with all the pain I have, then anybody can do it,” she said. “Don’t be embarrassed about being overweight…do something about it.”

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Contact Manivanh Chanprasith at mchan@vicksburgpost.com