HUDSONVILLE, Mich. (WXMI) — "The people I play with just make it more fun and they've become my family in my life. I just like playing with them. Softball just stuck with me," Jessica Mean said.
Since she was 4, Mead has always played softball. From travel ball to the Hudsonville softball junior varsity team, she loves being on the field. But that was almost taken away from her at the end of 2022.
"I'd get really bad headaches. I was super tired, so I'd come home from school and sleep. And those headaches would make me throw up. And every time I woke up in the morning, I'd feel sick getting ready for school," Mead said.
"I called the pediatrician and we set up an appointment for her to come in. She examined her and said let's try these two medicines, one was for headaches, one was for nausea. And if this doesn't work within a week, call me back and we'll schedule an MRI, and I thought wow, that's really quick. I thought maybe they would get her on a different medicine or try something else," Jess' mom Karen Mead said.
Jess Mead's symptoms continued through the week of Thanksgiving. On Dec. 5 the 16-year-old went in for an MRI and got results that no one could have expected.
"I was just sitting there and then she said, 'You have a mass on your brain.' And I didn't understand it at first. I was happy that they found out what was wrong with me, but I didn't understand that it was serious," Jess Mead said.
"I don't remember hearing the word tumor, but I remember seeing the image and knowing that it was a tumor. And of course, all the bad thoughts run through your head like is this cancerous, is this fatal, is she going to die?" Jess' dad Pete Mead said.
Just three days later, Jess Mead had a 13-hour-long surgery performed by Dr. Michael Bercu at Helen DeVos Childrens hospital in Grand Rapids. They soon confirmed through pathology that the tumor was benign.
The next two weeks were a challenge learning how to stand and walk again.
"Standing up was all I did for one day and it was like oh my, God or I was walking around the hospital floor slowly with my walker and people were cheering me on and it didn't seem that big to me, but it was frustrating to me how little progress and how you have to take it slow and slowly build your way back up," Jess Mead said.
Less than three weeks from finding out she had a brain tumor, she was able to skip treatment at Mary Free Bed and come home for physical therapy, just days before Christmas.
"Not surprised because Jess has that personality of being super competitive, type A, wants to do everything right. And always wants to improve on things, so we were not surprised that she was such a fighter on that," Karen Mead said.
That fight didn't stop there. Just two months after having the golf ball-sized tumor removed, Jess Mead was back at the batting cage and soon back with her team.
"That's all I was thinking about when I was in the hospital was just how much I wanted to play. It's what I spend all my time doing really. So just not being able to do that for so long, it just feels weird. But now that I'm back, it makes me feel normal again, it makes me feel whole," Jess Mead said.
Her entire team at Hudsonville has been nothing short of supportive and welcomed her back with open arms. Jess has already scored four home runs this year, not missing a beat and she considers herself lucky to be standing where she is today after how much her life changed just six months ago.
"I think it's lucky that I was able to get through the situation. I think it's good to be grateful for that. Just to be grateful for the way that everything turned out positive for me and I'm grateful for that every day," Jess Mead said.
