A young Florida man given just eight months to live has beaten a rare and aggressive blood cancer, after nearly dying multiple times during treatments. Now he is inspiring others who are going through health hardships.

Michael Cramer went to see a doctor after suffering fatigue, night sweats, and weight loss—symptoms he thought were caused by the stress of COVID-19 lockdowns—but the blood test showed something was wrong and he was told to see a blood specialist immediately.

The 21-year-old was then diagnosed with Hepatosplenic T-cell Lymphoma (HSTCL) in July 2020. He and his his mother Ashlee Cramer then heard the terrifying news that most people do not survive it, and Michael may have just eight months to live.

He underwent three rounds of intensive chemotherapy at Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami before receiving a bone marrow transplant later that summer.

The transplant resulted in a severe complication called Graft vs. Host Disease (GVHD), where the donor cells attack the host cells. Over the next 18 months, GVHD affected Michael's skin, his gastrointestinal tract, and then his liver went into failure and nearly killed him.

"The transplant was horrible. I felt so low," he told SWNS. "It was a long, slow journey of hospital trips, infusions, and so many setbacks.

"I had my gallbladder removed, which left my stomach paralyzed. Then I got avascular necrosis in both of my knees that could have made me unable to walk."