What went through your mind when you first learned you had bone cancer?
Paige Armstrong: We were told I had a mass on my leg that could be cancer and needed to have a biopsy. I heard the words “hospital” and “surgery” and thought, Man, that’s going to STINK. Little did I know! When I got home that afternoon, my family sat with me, cried over me and held me. They knew what this could mean, but I had absolutely no idea. One day I was a normal little girl, and the next day I woke up in a hospital bed with tubes connected to me, losing my hair.
Did faith play a role in your treatment and recovery?
Armstrong:Absolutely. At a point when everything else in my life was stripped away, faith was all I had. As much as the doctors, nurses, family, and friends were taking care of me, they couldn’t heal me. After I got past thinking God was punishing me, I started to understand a deeper side of his love. He was the only thing that carried me through.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation helped you fulfill a dream. Tell me about that.
Armstrong: I had heard about Make-A-Wish from my nurses and friends in the hospital. I began to dream about making my own wish! My parents and I came up with the idea of going to Nashville to record a professional CD. A year later [when Paige was 13], my parents and I were sent to Nashville from Pennsylvania to record my very own CD!
I had my own producer, engineer, musicians, back up singers—the works! Each musician was a professional that treated me like one of them. It was so God-orchestrated.
Did you ever think that “dream” demo session, covering Twila Paris songs, would turn into a rock/punk record of your own?
Armstrong: I certainly dreamed! After battling my illness, Twila’s song “The Warrior Is A Child” became my “signature song.” Outside of what I sang, I always liked edgy music. As people got to know me as the “inspirational” singer and speaker, they were shocked by my rocker side! Now being able to do the kind of music my heart has craved is like releasing a part of me that hasn’t been revealed before. The joke has become that I’m a preacher by day, rocker by night.
What message are you hoping to communicate with Wake Up?
Armstrong: A message that brings a wake-up call to my generation, a call for us to realize that we’re not invincible, that our life is a mist, and we can’t waste it. Most importantly, I want to lead hearts to the most beautiful thing: That we are valued beyond imagination. We are cherished, hand-picked, and placed on this earth with a mind-blowing purpose to fulfill.
With such high profile coverage like The Today Show and Extra, do you ever wish you could just forget about cancer and move on?
Armstrong: Good question. There have definitely been times that I wish I could erase the whole cancer thing, the huge scar on my leg, and limitations from my surgeries in order to just be “normal” again. But I’ve realized, even if I could go back, I wouldn’t. As horrible as [cancer] was, God used that experience to unleash his purpose in me. It is an essential part of my story. My scar and limitations are weaknesses I can delight in, because God has proven his power through them.
There are times I feel I have nothing worthwhile to give, or that God should just use someone else. But [when] I first thought that, God gave me the words to “Story Song”: “No one’s spared to just keep silent / No one’s saved to just keep still.” How can I not give back? How can I not share the truths he’s shown me? My life has become about inspiring others to their purpose.
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