There’s no time for headaches when you're a single mom juggling two daughters, three dogs, and a full-time job. For Mandy, a 46-year-old English teacher in Plumsted Township, NJ, she carried the weight of family, work, and personal responsibilities, chalking up her round-the-clock headaches to life’s stressors.
But when the headaches refused to let up, Mandy talked with her primary care doctor, who ordered a CAT scan just a few days before Christmas break, in 2024.
Mandy walked into her local hospital expecting a quick screening, and maybe leaving with a prescription for migraines. Instead, she received life-altering news. She was told a large mass was growing inside her brain.
“The news was crushing,” she says, immediately feeling concerned for her 10- and 11-year-old girls. “I was scheduled to talk with a neurologist the following morning, so I spent that first night in the hospital worrying. I had to sit with the terrifying possibility that my brain tumor could be cancer.”
A neurosurgeon brings a sense of calm
Stephen Johnson, MD, a neurosurgeon at Atlantic Health, would become the steady hand to guide Mandy through the storm. When she met Dr. Johnson, she was immediately put at ease.
“For the first time, I felt calm,” she says, about talking with Dr. Johnson. “The moment I heard his voice, something inside me just calmed down. I’m a worrier by nature, but with him, I had peace.”
Dr. Johnson explains, “Mandy’s brain tumor was the size of a baseball. It lacked the typical markers of a cancerous tumor, so we sensed it was benign. But it was lodged between the two critical structures of her brain and obstructing fluid drainage, causing hydrocephalus. This was placing tremendous pressure on Mandy’s brain. She needed surgery.”
Time to remove a brain tumor
Mandy was discharged from the local hospital to spend the holidays at home with family. Her surgery was scheduled at Morristown Medical Center for the end of January 2025. Although she had never heard of Morristown or its reputable hospital, none of this mattered. She says, “If Dr. Johnson told me Morristown was the best place for me, that’s where I was going.”
Of course, brain surgery comes with potential risks—memory loss, speech problems, even vision impairments. But Mandy trusted Dr. Johnson completely. “I told him, ‘My girls need me. I’m trusting you.’ He just put his hand on mine, and I knew everything was going to be all right.”
Mandy was also careful not to alarm her children, framing her illness in simple terms that they could understand. She told them, “Remember those headaches Mommy was having? Well, Dr. Johnson is going to fix them.”
The post-surgery healing begins
When Mandy awoke from surgery, the worst was behind her. Dr. Johnson shared the good news—her brain tumor was benign. Then came more good news. He was able to completely remove the tumor, and Mandy would have no long-term deficits. Her speech, memory, and vision would remain intact. What’s more, she would have ‘zero’ pain throughout her recovery.
Mandy returned to her students just six weeks post-surgery. She says, “I have so many reasons to feel grateful. The only sign that I had a brain tumor is the scar that is buried under my hair. I wear it as a badge of honor. I really do, I wear it proudly.”
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