Sunday, October 7, 2001

 

By NEAL WHITE
Daily Light Editor

     Cuddled up on the sofa, Ashley O'Rear pulls the blanket up around her shoulders and puts her arm around her favorite stuffed animal.
     Fighting the fatigue -- a side effect of the chemotherapy medicine -- the Waxahachie High School freshman struggles to stay awake, opening her eyes every few seconds just to let you know that she's still listening to every word being said.
     "I'm not asleep!" she calls out, opening her eyes and flashing that patented smile that defies her four-year war on cancer -- a battle Ashley thought she had won.
     "I'm just resting," she adds, as her father Paul begins to laugh.
     Since first being diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in March 1997, Ashley, now 14, has served as an inspiration to literally thousands of people around the world. Despite brain surgery, weeks of radiation and chemotherapy treatment,

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