Corey Fischer

Scholar athlete who overcame a tragedy and is now the face of change in the field of cancer and mental health.

Core Values: Passion, Value for Human Life, and Genuineness

Bio

My name is Corey Fischer, I am a 16 year old high school student-athlete. I have a love and passion for helping people and learning new things along the way. I am motivated to impact change and improve the lives of others through innovative ideas. My passion motivates me to dream big and get things done! 

As background to my impact project ideas, five years ago, my best friend, Jackson, passed away from Graft versus. Host Disease, after a bone marrow transplant he had in the hopes of curing his cancer. Jackson will always be a part of my life and I cherish the time I got to spend with such an amazing kid. He will forever be a role model to me and I will never forget him. 

Jackson’s story starts with a young boy who loved to play soccer, video games, and hanging out with friends. He was eventually diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia. Being the strong boy that he was, he beat cancer. Sadly, around a year later, he relapsed. In the beginning, I was very nervous because I had never known anyone with a sickness or illness like that, especially a kid. My first contact with Jackson was on the video game called Fortnite.  When he started to talk to me, I could immediately tell that we were very much alike. We exchanged phone numbers and talked everyday. Jackson soon became my best friend. We played Fortnite everyday together for hours and hours. We laughed, told jokes, and trash -talked each other. I needed a friend like Jackson in my life, as I was being bullied in school and often felt like I didn’t fit in. With Jackson, everything was always fine– except he had cancer.Jackson’s responses to my bullying stories made me feel better. He helped me realize what was important to me.  

For Jackson’s birthday I was excited to be able to get together with him in person. We had a wonderful time eating ice cream, laughing and just being kids. He was feeling pretty good at this point in his life. Life continued as normal for the next year or so. We continued to talk everyday and play everyday, until one day, my mom came home from the hospital and told me that Jackson wasn’t doing too well. He recently had a bone marrow transplant and was suffering from Grafts Vs. Host Disease. I didn’t know what this was, but I did realize he was having a hard time breathing. Sometimes he couldn’t even laugh because it made him short of breath. We hung out together at the hospital one day since he was too sick to go home. Eventually,  he was not able to play video games or do anything with me because the medication he was taking made him essentially unconscious. He could still think and hear things, but not speak or move. My immediate response was to send him a voice memo. Little did I know that this was my last contact with Jackson. I later heard from his mother that Jackson listened to my voice memo and even though he could barely move, he found the strength to smile. 

About a week later I received the news that he had passed, I immediately burst into tears. My first thought was that of regret. I had never gotten to say goodbye to him and I was never going to. He was gone and I had to accept that.

One memory that I will never forget  is when my family and I surprised Jackson at Friendly’s for ice cream since he was finally well enough to go to a public place. We were all talking and then Jackson whispered to me, “Make sure to include CJ.” Even in his special moment, his first thought was to make sure his brother was included. That’s the type of person Jackson was. I often think of Jackson and the big impact he made on my life. He taught me how to be myself and accept me for who I am.