Alexis

"I don’t worry about the little, insignificant things anymore", by Alexis Zachem. I am THAT girl who had a brain tumor. Before you start pitying me, let me make one thing abundantly clear. I love being the girl who had a brain tumor. No, not for the attention I get for it, and definitely not for the surgery and recovery. I like who my tumor made me and what it made me realize about myself. Before I became a brain tumor girl I was average. Smart, but never the smartest. Skinny, but definitely not the skinniest. All I wanted was to distinguish myself from everyone around me. I thought I could do this by being the prettiest or smartest, but found myself disappointed that I fell short every time. At the end of freshman year, as I sat on the sidelines of a lacrosse game, I was hit in the nose by a ball traveling 75 miles per hour. I was rushed to the emergency room to have facial reconstruction.
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I thought to myself, what could get worse than this? I can’t have shattered nasal plates and a deviated septum because I need to be pretty. I can’t spend months inactive, because I need to work out to be skinny. One thing I’ve learned about life is it can always be worse. Right before my surgery, my doctor pulled my parents aside and gave them the news that had everyone entering the room in tears.

I HAD A BRAIN TUMOR! An innocent 15 year old who was too shy and insecure to hurt a fly! I vividly remember the feeling when they told me; that feeling of your heart dropping to the floor as your stomach tightens and throat closes. I thought it was the end. I would never live to go to college, drive a car, meet my husband or start a family. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

The way I see it, people face tragedy in two ways. You can be the victim or you can be the survivor. I am a survivor. I fought my tumor and I beat it. I had a 10-hour surgery, spent 5 nights in the ICU, went on dozens of medications and have 6 titanium plates in my skull and a 9-inch scar, but I won!

I don’t like it when others know what I went through. I don’t like being looked at differently because I fought a deadly illness. But I do love who my surgery made me. Now I am passionate about everything I do. I appreciate every moment of every day because I understand how precious life is.

I have raised over $50,000 for Making Headway through planning and executing an annual spina-thon. I started a social media campaign called  “brain freeze for brain cancer” that gained international attention and had thousands of shares. I mentor kids currently battling brain tumors, and help their families through the experience. I donate toys and clothes to the hospital. I have a blog, braintumorgirl.com, that helps kids understand what to expect when having brain surgery. Nothing makes me happier than doing these things.

My surgery gave me a new perspective on life. I don’t worry about the little, insignificant things anymore. I know how lucky I am to simply be alive and I use that to make everything I do productive.

Alexis is now studying neuroscience at Duke University. Her goal is to become a pediatric neurosurgeon or neurologist, and change the patient-doctor interface for kids undergoing brain surgery.