Profile of the week: Conor Hall

by Nathan Chandler

by Zach Miller

With graduation looming, the month of May can be a scary time for all college students around the country. The challenges of the “real world” can appear frightening to anyone, but these normal obstacles pale in comparison to the challenge that junior Connor Hall faced last year.

Hall’s story began two days prior to graduation in 2011, when he noticed two small bumps near his collarbone. Hall had a cold during that time, so he went to Health Services thinking that the bumps were simply swollen lymph nodes. When they couldn’t identify the cause of the bumps, they sent Hall to Reid Hospital to have them checked out. It was there that the doctors diagnosed Hall with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a form of cancer found in the lymph nodes.

Hall’s twin brother Patrick, who is also a junior, was called to the hospital following the diagnosis. “It was too hard to believe almost,” said Patrick Hall. “You just want to keep checking the facts.”

“When you first hear cancer you automatically think death,” said Connor Hall. “Being young and in good shape, I was thinking ‘I can beat this.’”

Prior to the diagnosis Hall had plans to fly to Colorado for an internship with the governor. Being diagnosed halted those plans as Hall was forced to fly back to his hometown of Austin, Texas to begin treatments.

While undergoing treatments Hall found inspiration in those who were dealing with similar illnesses and the physicians treating the illnesses. “Some of those people are the most incredibly inspiring people in the world,” Hall said.

Normally the chemotherapy treatments leave the patient lacking energy to perform daily tasks normally. This was not the case for Hall, who would go out and play sand volleyball with his friends following treatment.

During the end of his treatments, Hall returned to Indiana to spend 10 days with Patrick Hall. The two had made plans for a week of carefree fun to celebrate the conclusion of Connor Hall’s treatments. However that celebration was cut short two days later when Hall received an urgent phone call saying that he needed to return to Texas to continue treatment. The doctors had been treating the illness as Hodgkin’s Lymphoma stage two, when Hall had been diagnosed with stage two B, also known as “bulky disease”, which requires intensive treatments.

“That was one of the hardest moments of the whole thing, ‘cause I thought all of it was behind me,” Hall said.

“It was like finishing finals then finding out you have a whole semester of finals left,” said Patrick Hall.

The commencement of the second round of treatments forced Hall to miss last semester. In addition to having to miss school, which is something he did not like, this would also be the longest time he had been separated from his twin brother.

“Even when we were apart we’d talk all the time,” said Hall. “It’s an incredible connection.”

“They say when you’re together you grow more different and when you’re apart you become more alike,” said Patrick Hall. “I would say that being apart made me feel more responsible, like Connor.”

Even though Connor Hall was away from school, he still continued learning during his time at home, studying Spanish and finance.

“Being away was tough because I really love going to school. I love every aspect of it,” Hall said. “I tried to just stay learning and stay sharp.”

Hall’s treatments concluded in December, which meant that he could return to school, although the doctors advised he take a more relaxed approach. This meant that Hall could no longer serve as co-president of Earlham Student Government or take on as many classes as he would like. He was forced to slow down in general. Although he isn’t able to involve himself as fully as he would like, Hall keeps everything in perspective after his experience with cancer.

“I’m sure the greater picture will continue to reveal itself to me,” Hall said. “I know how cliché it sounds, but if it doesn’t kill you it makes you stronger.”