Sarah Atwell, a 17-year-old from Nova Scotia, Canada, was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis at the age of eight months. A big tumor grew on the right side of her face as a result of her hereditary disease.
Sarah’s tumor developed alongside her: “It grew with me.” It’s sometimes difficult to hear in my right ear since it pulls everything down. “My right eye is a haze.”
Sarah had been bullied her entire life because of her appearance, but she refused to allow the vicious comments to bring her down; she was determined to have a healthy, happy life.
“Almost every day at school is a drag,” Sarah says, “and my class photo keeps disappearing.” It is taken by someone. I’m not sure why, and it’s hurting me. Some kids have been calling me names and threatening to kill me.”
Sarah made a video to vent her sorrows on Facebook in 2012, but the impact would change her life forever.
Sarah explains, “I have a tumor, that’s all,” in a sequence of cards held up to the camera. I wish people could see that I am completely healthy.”
“I’m constantly called names like bitch, slut, fat face, ugly, and it hurts.”
“Perhaps one day the bullying will end, but until then, I’ll stay tough.”
Sarah received thousands of messages the day after she posted her terrible story, offering support and good words.
And the viral video drew the attention of a Discovery Channel producer, who began filming a documentary on Sarah’s life and pledged to assist her.
Sarah is offered life-changing surgery to remove the tumor from her face and rebuild her features in the documentary, with Discovery’s support.
As surgeons removed enormous amounts of tissue and attempted to rebuild Sarah’s face without harming fragile nerve fiber, it was a risky process with a high danger of blood loss.
Sarah’s situation was unusual, according to surgeon Dr. Morris: “When she first came to see us, the lesion encompassed the entire right side of her face – it was growing all around her eye.”
Sarah couldn’t believe what she saw in the mirror after hours of surgery and weeks of recovery.
“I was ecstatic because my lips were perfectly straight. I couldn’t stop staring at myself in the mirror and snapping images of myself. My mother and neighbors were taken aback.”
“We gave my father pictures, and he was overjoyed. “As long as I’m happy, he’s happy,” he remarked.
Sarah will undergo a few more treatments, including “de-bulking” the tumor around her eye and reshaping the eye socket, but the majority of the surgery has already been completed.
And Sarah is looking ahead, aiming to help others with her experiences.
“If I was able to stand up to bullying, and another youngster who was mistreated sees me and believes they can talk to someone and stand up for themselves,” she says, “then I have helped.”
What a remarkable young lady.