Alykozak was 10 years old when osteosarcoma took part of her leg.
Doctors fitted her with an expandable endoprosthesis, designed to grow along with her, but the new bone did not come with instructions for the pain.
Months of chemotherapy followed, along with a body weakened to the bone and a goal that seemed impossible: simply bend the artificial knee and stand on her feet again.
Ten years later, she returned to the same hospital corridor, but this time there was no rush or fear.
She showed up for her routine checkup wearing heels, just so her surgeon —the same one who had watched her fight for every step— could see her walk that way.
She later said that smile, with a flash of teeth he had never seen on her before, was worth more than any scan result. It was not vanity.
It was the quiet proof that the body she had almost lost ultimately carried her exactly where she wanted to return.