Abby Tatum is graduating from high school this week and looking ahead to college and whatever the future holds. She has wrapped up a four-year stint at Ola High School that includes academic as well as extracurricular excellence.

But those who know her well or have watched her closely over the past six years have a far greater appreciation for her accomplishments than the casual observer.

It was in the early part of 2017, when she was in sixth grade, that she began having persistent headaches that could not be lessened by standard medication. A trip to the doctor was in order.

“Her pediatrician insisted that she have an MRI,” said Abby’s mother, Toni. “They ordered it on February 8.”

The fact that Toni recalls so many specific dates and other details reflects the magnitude of what the tests revealed: a right frontal lobe tumor in the brain.

Abby was admitted to the hospital and had surgery March 31 of that year. It was successful, and doctors learned that the tumor which was removed was Stage 2 cancer.

After that event – monumental for a patient at any age, let alone a preteen – she got back her normal life. In recent years, those who did not know her six years ago would not detect anything out of the ordinary.

“She’s had a few drawbacks, but not anything that’s kept her from being able to be a typical kid,” her mom said. “From the surgery and from the medication she’s had to take every year, she still has some memory issues. Outside of that, she takes care of everything — does it herself, does a great job. Just phenomenal.”

She has been a dual enrollment student the past two years, a testament to her academic success, and as a result has already completed a large portion of her first two years of college. She plans to continue at Gordon State after her May 18 high school graduation and pursue a bachelor’s degree in nursing.

A cheerleader since the age of six, Abby has spent four years as a sideline cheerleader at Ola and also as a competition cheerleader. It was through her cheer coach, Chelsea McCreary, that district officials asked her to be a student speaker at a recent “State of our Schools” event for the entire district.

She delivered a captivating address to those in attendance. Among her comments: “Henry County is home, love, community, and family.”

A recent statement by district officials commended her on her speech and her overall outlook on life.

“Abby moved the State of Our Schools audience to tears with her story of extraordinary resilience as she fights a recurrent brain tumor,” according to the statement. “While going through chemo, she also fought to cheer, complete dual enrollment classes and make the most of her senior year.”

The chemotherapy treatment is a recent addition to her already busy life. After the 2017 surgery she had an MRI every three months.

“This past June we went for what we thought would be her final MRI so we could bridge over to the survivorship clinic,” said Toni. “Unfortunately, it showed tumor progression.”

As of last week, Abby was in her sixth of eight cycles of chemo she has to complete. The entire process should be concluded by September. In the meantime, another MRI is scheduled for June 4 and that will give everyone an update on how things are going.

“So far there’s not been any worsening or improvement with the tumor,” said Toni. “I don’t know how long this will go.”
The immediate goal is for Abby to be as much a normal teenager as she can be – staying on track with college and whatever else she wants to do.

Obviously, there is some uncertainty. But there is also thankfulness.

“Overall we are grateful. She is grateful,” her mom said. “Things could be much worse. She is in a good place.”