A Woodbury native who was diagnosed with a rare disease at the age of 18 is turning his pain into strength by creating a TV pilot.

Cody Louis Cohen is working on a pilot trailer for “Gold Coast,” a television show that he began writing in 2017.

The Syosset High School alumni tells News 12 that he turned to writing as a way to emotionally deal with the pain he was experiencing.

“When I was in the hospital, there were days where I felt like I was in hell...I resorted to TV to try to keep my mind off of it,” he said. “I kind of made a promise to myself, if I'm able to smile and be taken away peacefully and not be in this environment... I want to give that back. That to me is even more rewarding than anything else.”