- Jayden Zientara, 24, needed to stimulate her brain during part of an operation to remove a cancerous tumor
- She sang a childhood song that listed all 50 states, and a video of her performance – performed on an operating table – went viral
- Zientara’s family started a GoFundMe to help pay for freezing her eggs before she begins chemotherapy and radiation, which could cause fertility problems
When Jayden Zientara was told she had to stay alert during part of her upcoming brain surgery to remove a cancerous tumor, she knew exactly how she would stay in touch with doctors.
“I told them I could list all 50 states alphabetically,” Zientara told FOX News Digital of her special skill, which she attributes to a song she learned as a child.
“It’s a song I’ve known since I was young,” she told the newspaper. – I learned it in elementary school and I never forgot it.
A video of Zientara singing the 50 States song has since gone viral, and her mother, Jamie Zientara, shared with FOX News Digital that “the exposure and outpouring of support she’s received has been nothing short of incredible.”
The 24-year-old health care worker at Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville said her journey to surgery began with migraines that began last November.
“I never get migraines or headaches, so like any other person, I took Ibuprofen and Tylenol, hoping the headache would go away,” she told the newspaper, adding that she went to urgent care when her headache wouldn’t go away.
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She was prescribed migraine medication and told that if her migraines did not go away in the next 24 hours, she should go for a CT scan.
Two days later, Zientara received a scan that showed a brain mass.
Further testing revealed that Zientara had brain cancer – specifically, a tumor called an astrocytoma – which required surgery to remove.
Jayden Zientara undergoes surgery.
Fox News
As the Mayo Clinic explains, the tumor starts in cells called astrocytes, which “support and connect nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.”
Removing Zientara’s tumor would require her to be awake for part of the procedure, something the National Institutes of Health explains “allows the neurosurgeon to maximally resect the tumor while preserving neurological function.”
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Zientara said doctors looked for topics she could easily talk about during surgery, and she said she could talk “for hours” about the Boston Celtics — or sing a song about the 50 states.
Next up for Zientara is chemotherapy and radiation, which will be delayed a bit because she wants to freeze her eggs, according to an update her mom posted on the GoFundMe the family set up for her medical bills.
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“Obviously the hope and goal is for Jayden to beat this cancer and get back to a normal life and future!” the update read. “When that day comes, she wants to be able to have children.”
As the National Cancer Institute points out, “Cancer treatment is important for your future health, but it can damage the reproductive organs and glands that control fertility.”
But as Zientara told Fox News Digital, she’s not worried about her upcoming treatments.
“After my first brain surgery,” she said, “you could say I’m a pro.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education