Page 7 - June 2018 Healthbeat

“THE BRAIN TUMOR WAS THE
STRAW THAT BROKE THE CAMEL’S
BACK. THAT WAS THE THING
THAT MADE ME FALL DOWN AND
REALIZE THAT I NEED TO BE A
BIGGER PERSON.” MEAGAN CHISM
CATCHER FOR THE BRYANT LADY HORNETS SOFTBALL TEAM
largest measurement shown on the scans has been about 2 centimeters. If the tumor grew and put pressure on Meagan’s brain, she would most likely have seizures ranging from “zoning-out” to abnormal body movements.
To develop a treatment plan, doctors look at tumors in context by reviewing images, determining whether patients have any symptoms related to the tumor and asking how the tumor was found, he said.
“For her, we saw a tumor on imaging that did not have aggressive features, and we heard the story that it was something that really felt more like it was found incidentally,” he said.
After learning that the tumor was low-grade, Meagan and her family faced a critical decision. Meagan could undergo surgery to conduct a biopsy and learn more about the tumor, perhaps even removing it entirely, or they could continue to monitor the tumor with periodic MRIs.
Although Bielamowicz said Meagan would likely be able to continue her softball career if she had surgery, there are risks involved with brain surgery, including bleeding and infection. However, simply watching the tumor can cause anxiety.
“Right now, this family’s having to think, ‘Is any symptom she has related to this tumor?’ There’s a lot of stress that comes with that,” he said. “Whereas if you took it all out, and then you established over several scans that it hadn’t come back, there’s a chance you could even potentially stop following it after several years.”
After the discovery, Meagan had an MRI every three months, then every six months, and now she has a follow- up MRI every year. Since the tumor has not grown and Meagan has not noticed any symptoms related to the mass, she can still play softball, although she missed a few weeks because of her concussion.
If the tumor were to grow, Bielamowicz said, doctors would remove it and examine it under a microscope to determine whether Meagan would need further treatment, such as radiation or chemotherapy. The best outcome would be for the tumor never to change or need medical intervention.
“We know a lot of these don’t grow for decades. We know that a lot of these will never cause problems,” he said. “Often it’s in the patient’s best interest not to intervene, to observe the behavior of the tumor over time.”
Although the family was devastated by the diagnosis, they now say the accident was a blessing in disguise that allowed them to find the tumor without causing Meagan serious damage.
“I think God had something to do with it,” Mary said. “It’s almost like he pushed her into that bat so that we would find the tumor.”
Meagan said that learning to live with the tumor helped her realize that she could rely on friends and family for support during difficult times.
STRENGTH AND STRUGGLE
Meagan was only out of school for two days after the accident, but she and her family kept silent about the tumor for a few weeks, only telling close friends and family until they had more information about her prognosis.
“I’m not sure that I could actually even accept it in my mind, but I still knew it was there,” Donnie said. “You try and tell somebody, and you just start crying, so it was hard to discuss it with anybody.”
Both he and Mary said that Meagan’s positivity was their greatest source of strength after the diagnosis.
“When she broke down, we lost it,” he said. “When she was strong, we were strong.”
Meagan said that beneath her formidable mask, she was on edge. The tumor added to the already tumultuous struggles of teen life. She had just gone through a dramatic breakup, she said, and she had neglected her friendships. She said she made bad decisions that threatened her straight-A grades and varsity position. Her faith started to slip away, too.
“There was a time when I did blame God, and that’s one of the hardest things that you can go through because when you blame him, everything starts going downhill,” she said. “When you stop blaming him and start trusting him, that’s when everything starts going smoother.”
Meagan regained her faith, but only after losing her composure. Feeling frustrated and angry, she drove by herself to a pond behind some soccer fields, where she dumped out her gear bag. Bawling, she threw her bat and glove across the field and hurled her balls into the lake.
“When I was done screaming, I just remember sitting down and being like, ‘It’s going to be OK,’” she said. “That was the moment I think God put his hand over me, and he made me realize that all of this is going to be OK.”
HEARTFELT HORNETS
Once the family knew the tumor was not growing and did not require surgery, they told Meagan’s high school softball coach, Lisa Dreyer.
“That was a rough day,” Meagan said. “I’d never seen Coach Dreyer cry in my entire life, but when I told her, it broke my heart. You could just see her eyes swell up.”
Dreyer gathered the team at the visitor’s dugout, where Meagan broke the news.
“When I told them, every girl on that team just broke down,” she said. “It made me realize how much support I have and how much love is around me that I can rely on to get through a hard time like this.”
Right before the accident, the team had built a prayer box in the dugout where people could submit prayer requests, she added, and the team would pray together after practice on Wednesdays. Meagan’s brain tumor was one of the first things they prayed together about.
“We were sad for her having to deal with that fear day in and day out,” Dreyer said. “There were a lot of tears, but at the same time, we knew we had to be strong for her and let her know that we were in her corner.”
For the most part, she said, Meagan maintained a positive outlook and continued to give her all to softball.
“As a catcher, my expectations of them are to be vocal and be a leader and be focused on every single pitch,” she said. “That’s a lot to ask from somebody with her diagnosis, especially at the time, but she never seemed to falter on the field.”
Independence is one of Meagan’s top values, but dealing with the diagnosis taught her that she cannot handle everything by herself, she said, adding that it also encouraged her to lead her team with actions, not just words.
“The brain tumor was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” she said. “That was the thing that made me fall down and realize that I need to be a bigger person.”
EYES ON THE BALL
Meagan and her family spent the summer after her diagnosis on the road, splitting their time between softball camps at various colleges, tournament games with Oklahoma Athletics Softball Academy and tournament games with Vision Fastpitch, which Meagan will continue to play with this summer.
At one camp, Meagan met Natalie Poole, head coach for the University of Memphis softball team, and committed to continuing her softball career at the university after graduation.
Meagan, who plans to be an ophthalmologist, said she chose the school not only because of her chemistry with the coach, but also because of the school’s excellent ophthalmology program. She added that the university is close enough to home that she can visit her parents but far enough away that she can develop independently.
“I want to be a leader in the workforce. I want to be a leader in ophthalmology. I want to be a leader in my school,” she said. “I like to lead. It’s challenging for me, and I like to be challenged and be able to build those relationships with other people and be able to see what kind of wake I can create.”
She added that her diagnosis has given her an opportunity to inspire others by sharing her story. All people journey through valleys, or difficult times, she said, but eventually, they will hit a mountain. Climbing to the top may be difficult, but the view is amazing.
“Even if you go through something rough, you can get something great out of it,” she said. “This event in my life has addedtowhoIamasapersonandwhoIamasaplayer.It’s shaped me. It’s made me who I wanted to be. It’s pushed me to be a better softball player and a better person.”
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