Growing up in Aotearoa has been a blessing. I was brought up in South Auckland, Māngere, went to a local primary school, Viscount, and then went from form 1 to form 3 to Marsden College, then my later years at Auckland Grammar School. I wanted to become an All Black or professional athlete at a young age, but I suffered from left-knee bone cancer in my fourth form year. I remember playing a rugby game and afterwards seeing a lump on my left knee. After two weeks, this lump wasn't resolving and was actually growing in size. My parents took me to the local doctors and I was sent to Middlemore for further tests. That's when they diagnosed me with cancer. All I could think about was that my sporting hopes were dashed. As a teenager, I didn't really understand what cancer was.