N.C. State Student Returns To Class After Facing Major Test In Life

Shannon Doorhy has a dog named Shadrach. Like the biblical story he is named after, Doorhy has survived the fiery furnace.

"Well, I was having knee pains," she said. "They did an MRI and they found big white patches in my bones."

Those patches were signs of leukemia. Doorhy was a freshman at N.C. State University early last year when she got the diagnosis. She took chemotherapy and had severe side effects, but through it all, she finished her freshman year with a 4.0 grade-point average. Doorhy then completed the greatest test of all -- a bone marrow transplant.

"I wouldn't have lived without it. I wouldn't have survived," Doorhy said.

Doorhy said Shadrach has been a big help, saddled with a bag full of medications. Shannon takes more than 20 pills a day.

"He's helped me through greatly," she said.

Now a sophomore, Doorhy has already learned so much.

"Yeah, I have a lot of other stuff, though, that I want to learn," she said. "There's no limit to what I want to do and I'll do it."

Doorhy continues to check with her doctors and so far, her prognosis seems good. She also has come to know a man from Florida who was her bone marrow donor.