Sophomore Drew Hahn was an average teenage boy dealing with sports and schoolwork  when he was diagnosed with a type of blood cancer in seventh grade.

Hahn was admitted to the hospital for months at a time which took a toll on his body.

“It was painful to go through but I wouldn’t change anything, I like the way my life has been because of it almost,” Hahn said.

Being out of school, not seeing his friends everyday and fighting cancer in the hospital made Hahn realize what was important to him: his friends, family and sports, and to make each day count.

“Before it [my mindset] was just like any other person, and now I view life as more valuable, like everything is more important and everything I do, I make sure it’s for a reason,” Hahn said.

The Kaneland community and administration made sure Hahn felt supported and welcome when he returned back to school.

“The whole district, I know at least with the middle school, because that’s when I had it, but they did a lot of stuff for me, my teachers, the staff, they did a lot of different things to help me out and make it easier,” Hahn said.

Finally, when Hahn’s health was closer to normal again, his doctor allowed him to return to playing the sport he loved, football. Because of his love for the sport, Hahn was determined to beat cancer so he could get back out on the field, reunite with his team and come back stronger than ever.

“For football, it [the illness] made me want to get back and be better than I ever was,” Hahn said

Hahn is now a multi-sport athlete, playing football in the fall and track in the spring. From his experience with cancer, Hahn learned he needs to work hard to achieve his goals.

“Going through this [illness] made me want to work a lot harder,” Hahn said.