A Clayton County 14-year-old had to have her arm amputated about a month ago due to a cancerous tumor.
But she didn’t let that keep her down for long, and she’s been able to make major strides — and strokes — since then.
Tyler Brown recently competed in her high school’s swim meet and was able to hold her own, much to the excitement and relief of her parents.
“Man, I was crying,” Jae Brown, the teen’s father, told Channel 2 Action News.
Her mother, Mechelle Brown, added that she was “screaming” during the entire meet because of how well her daughter was performing on Elite Scholars Academy’s relay team.
Doctors found and initially removed the tumor from her right arm, but her father said it began growing back. It had become malignant, leading doctors to amputate in order to keep the disease from spreading.
While her family worried, Tyler Brown said she tried to keep living as if things were normal.
“It didn’t affect me in any way,” she said.
Initially, her family was worried how her friends and classmates would react to seeing her with only one arm, so they held “one arm parties,” Channel 2 reported. They said those helped her transition back to school.
As soon as she was medically cleared, she jumped back into the pool.
It hasn’t been an easy road to recovery, though, and learning to swim with one less limb has presented its own challenges.
“I do feel like I have to work harder than my two-arm counterparts, but it’s work I’m willing to do,” she said.
She said she looks forward to proving any doubters wrong.
“I am really competitive,” she said. “I want people to count me out. Then I want to prove them wrong.”
About the Author
