By J.O. PARKER
joparker@dmreg.com
Jenny Talley is as fun-loving as any 16-year-old teen.
She enjoys hanging out with her friends, texting on her cell phone, spending time with family and cooking.
In fact, when she graduates from English Valley High School in 2014, Jenny is considering a career in the kitchen.
?I think I want to go for culinary arts because I like to cook,? she said.
Her favorite class at EV is English Computation, where she gets to write about her family and life experiences.
?We?ve been doing a lot of writing and that is a lot of fun,? Jenny said.
She is a member of the National Honor Society and holds a 3.0 GPA. She?s also involved in FCCLA (Family Career Community Leaders of America) and sings in the high school chorus.
And, she takes dance lessons at That?s Dancin? in Montezuma, an art she has been involved with since age 3.
But there is a lot more to Jenny?s story than meets the eye.
Jenny, who lives in Deep River, is a brain cancer survivor.
And according to her mother, Jeanne, one oncology doctor referred to her as a walking miracle. And to this day, Jenny?s neurosurgeon carries her picture with him as a reminder of what medicine can and can?t do.
Miracle girl
It all started when she was two and one-half years old and was diagnosed with pilocytic astrocytoma ? a brain tumor inside the ventricle.
It started on Dec. 29, 1998, recalled Jeanne, just a few days after Christmas. Jenny was at home with family when she showed signs of being nauseated.
The next day, Dec. 30, Jeanne, her husband, John, and older daughter, Julie, took baby Jenny to GRMC where a CT scan was performed.
Doctors discovered she had excess fluid on her brain and sent her to Blank Children?s Hospital in Des Moines.
When the Talley family arrived in Des Moines, doctors did an MRI on Jenny and emergency surgery was scheduled that evening.
?We kind of hesitated,? Jeanne said of the surgery. ?Doctors said if they didn?t operate, she wouldn?t make it through the night.?
Surgery was performed and doctors were able to remove as much of the tumor as possible.
?Words to us (by the oncology doctor) was, ?I could have gotten the whole tumor but I would not have given you back the same girl,?? recalled Jeanne.
At the time, Jeanne said doctors thought the tumor was slow growing and they wanted to watch and see what would happen.
After 18 days in the hospital, Jenny was able to return home.
The cancer grew back and in June 1999, Jenny underwent a second surgery to remove more of the tumor.
In October 1999, Jenny started her first chemotherapy regimen.
?She was on this until November 2000 and it caused her kidneys to fail,? recalled Jeanne. ?After two weeks, she regained full use of her kidneys.?
She endured two more regimens of chemotherapy, with the last being completed in June 2002.
That same month, a third surgery was performed to remove the tumor, which continued to grow.
?Six days later, she was showing problems and a fourth surgery was performed to put in a intraventricular shunt to keep the pressure drained off her brain,? said Jeanne.
Radiation treatments (28 days) followed in July and August of 2002, and to this date the cancer is there, but has not grown or changed.
Jenny had her 50th and last MRI in the spring of this year, and doctors have said that is the last unless something changes.
?The doctors said 50 was a good number to stop at,? Jeanne said.
As a cancer patient, Jenny became involved in the Children?s Cancer Connection sponsored Heart Connection Camp.
Children?s Cancer Connection
The week-long camp is held each June at the YMCA camp near Boone and draws about 150 cancer kids from across the state.
The Children?s Cancer Connection also holds a cancer camp for siblings of cancer patients and Jenny?s sister, Julie, has attend several times.
?They (camp staff) have helped me so much,? said Jenny. ?I feel like I stand out because of what I?ve been through. At camp, I can just be a normal kid.?
This year was the 13th year Jenny has attended camp and it also marked a milestone for her.
A design featuring a snowman and snow woman with happy holidays that Jenny drew at camp this summer was selected to be featured in the 2012 Children?s Cancer Connection line of Christmas cards.
Jenny received a framed copy of her card.
The cards are sold as a fundraiser for the camp and come in an assorted pack of 24 cards for $15. Each pack includes eight card designs.
Cards can be purchased through the Children?s Cancer Connection Web site at www.childrenscancerconnection.org or by calling Jenny at 641-595-2941.
Orders will be taken through Nov. 30.
The Children?s Cancer Connection can be reached at: Children?s Cancer Connection, 1221 Center St., Suite 12, Des Moines, IA 50309-1014. The phone number is 515-243-6239. Email at: Info@ChildrensCancerConnection.org.
?It was not an easy battle, but it was one worth fighting,? Jeanne said. ?She is very sweet and easy going and a joy to be around.?
Source: http://yourweeklypaper.com/blog/2012/10/09/cancer-survivor-has-christmas-on-her-mind/
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