Tonya M. Fleetwood

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Title: "Modern Miracles, Complete with Metal Disks "
Description: I wrote this for my hometown newspaper during my junior year of college. It's an update on my life post brain surgery.
Date written: November 2002

The time for an update is here. Aren’t you so excited!? I will start with the health news. I went back to Kansas City in August for my checkup (shortly after having all four of my wisdom teeth removed, which was a million times worse than brain surgery). I had an MRI done that morning at St. Luke’s Hospital. The rest of the afternoon was spent with my surgeon, Dr. John Clough, and my neurologist, Dr. Christine Boutwell. I learned the test results of my brain tumor. By the way, my surgeon was not able to entirely remove the tumor during surgery. It was attached to a main blood vessel, and the risk was too high to try to eliminate it all. Dr. Clough informed me that the tumor is benign, which means non-cancerous (hooray!). He also informed me that there is a high chance that the tumor will continue to grow, since there are still active cells present. He said not to worry about it too much though. My tumor was classified as a Gangliocytoma, which is extremely rare. During my visit with Dr. Clough, he showed me the MRI scans from that morning. There were these white circles on the x-ray around the tumor area. It made me a little nervous at first, but then he told informed my family and me that I have three metal disks in my head. They are there holding my skull together. I think having disks is one of the ultimate achievements. I am actually one of those lucky individuals to have metal disks. How many people can say that? It makes me feel special. The part of my tumor that still remains on my very expensive brain did not even show up on the new scans, which means that it is practically microscopic.

So, I am basically doing really well in terms of comparison to all of the events of the last year. I have an occasional headache from time to time, but it is nothing like it used to be. I am still struggling with the daily frustration of my hair, but I know that it will continue to grow back (But hey, who really cares, I have metal disks in my head…yeah, metal disks!).

I am currently employed at mPRm Public Relations. We represent and promote certain movies and TV shows. Some of our current movie clients include: The Ring, Roger Dodger, and Sonny (Nicolas Cage’s directorial debut coming out in December). Some of our current TV clients include: “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” “The King of Queens,” “Boomtown,” and “Hack.” Some noteworthy former clients consist of In the Bedroom, Shakespeare in Love, Frailty, Memento, Bridget Jones’ Diary, and Chocolat. My job is by far the greatest pleasure of my week. I really love it. The people that I work with are incredibly dynamic and animated. It is the best job, truly. I will be working here this coming summer as well.

I recently got accepted into New York University’s Study Abroad Program (hooray!). I will be living in London, England for the entire spring semester. I am tremendously eager to go. My close friend, Bart, is going to Paris for the semester, so I will be flying to Paris once a month. I really cannot wait.

I recently celebrated my 21st birthday with my parents. We spent the day in Atlantic City gambling all our money away. My favorite casino was Trump’s Taj Mahal.

Well, that is my update. It is amazing sometimes to think about everything I have been through. I frequently ask myself if I really am only 21 years old. It is crazy for one person to experience so much. I will have so many stories to tell my grandchildren. Before I completely finish this article, I would like to give a quick shout-out of Congratulations to my good friend, Christina Pace, who is the proud new parent of Caitlin Christine Pace.

Feel free to drop me an email sometime: tmf222@nyu.edu

I will be home soon for Thanksgiving, and then, of course, in December for Christmas. I’m looking forward to seeing some familiar faces, which is all Bedford, IA is; a place “where everybody knows your name!”



Go to Documents index Title: "Modern Miracles, Complete with Metal Disks " Description: I wrote this for my hometown newspaper during my junior year of college. It's an update on my life post brain surgery. Date written: November 2002 The time for an update is here. Aren’t you so excited!? I will start with the health news. I went back to Kansas City in August for my checkup (shortly after having all four of my wisdom teeth removed, which was a million times worse than brain surgery). I had an MRI done that morning at St. Luke’s Hospital. The rest of the afternoon was spent with my surgeon, Dr. John Clough, and my neurologist, Dr. Christine Boutwell. I learned the test results of my brain tumor. By the way, my surgeon was not able to entirely remove the tumor during surgery. It was attached to a main blood vessel, and the risk was too high to try to eliminate it all. Dr. Clough informed me that the tumor is benign, which means non-cancerous (hooray!). He also informed me that there is a high chance that the tumor will continue to grow, since there are still active cells present. He said not to worry about it too much though. My tumor was classified as a Gangliocytoma, which is extremely rare. During my visit with Dr. Clough, he showed me the MRI scans from that morning. There were these white circles on the x-ray around the tumor area. It made me a little nervous at first, but then he told informed my family and me that I have three metal disks in my head. They are there holding my skull together. I think having disks is one of the ultimate achievements. I am actually one of those lucky individuals to have metal disks. How many people can say that? It makes me feel special. The part of my tumor that still remains on my very expensive brain did not even show up on the new scans, which means that it is practically microscopic. So, I am basically doing really well in terms of comparison to all of the events of the last year. I have an occasional headache from time to time, but it is nothing like it used to be. I am still struggling with the daily frustration of my hair, but I know that it will continue to grow back (But hey, who really cares, I have metal disks in my head…yeah, metal disks!). I am currently employed at mPRm Public Relations. We represent and promote certain movies and TV shows. Some of our current movie clients include: The Ring, Roger Dodger, and Sonny (Nicolas Cage’s directorial debut coming out in December). Some of our current TV clients include: “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” “The King of Queens,” “Boomtown,” and “Hack.” Some noteworthy former clients consist of In the Bedroom, Shakespeare in Love, Frailty, Memento, Bridget Jones’ Diary, and Chocolat. My job is by far the greatest pleasure of my week. I really love it. The people that I work with are incredibly dynamic and animated. It is the best job, truly. I will be working here this coming summer as well. I recently got accepted into New York University’s Study Abroad Program (hooray!). I will be living in London, England for the entire spring semester. I am tremendously eager to go. My close friend, Bart, is going to Paris for the semester, so I will be flying to Paris once a month. I really cannot wait. I recently celebrated my 21st birthday with my parents. We spent the day in Atlantic City gambling all our money away. My favorite casino was Trump’s Taj Mahal. Well, that is my update. It is amazing sometimes to think about everything I have been through. I frequently ask myself if I really am only 21 years old. It is crazy for one person to experience so much. I will have so many stories to tell my grandchildren. Before I completely finish this article, I would like to give a quick shout-out of Congratulations to my good friend, Christina Pace, who is the proud new parent of Caitlin Christine Pace. Feel free to drop me an email sometime: tmf222@nyu.edu I will be home soon for Thanksgiving, and then, of course, in December for Christmas. I’m looking forward to seeing some familiar faces, which is all Bedford, IA is; a place “where everybody knows your name!”