Teacher learns life lessons from brain tumor treatment

Jamie Youngquist was 25 years old and teaching health education and living skills -- personal finances, meal planning, finding a job -- to students at Cascade High School in Everett, Wash. Then something unexpected came along that changed the young teacher's life.

"I started having constant ringing in my left ear," Youngquist recalled. At first her doctors near her home in Lake Stevens, Wash., thought she had an ear infection. When the ringing got worse a few weeks later, her doctors ordered a magnetic resonance imaging scan of the left side of her brain.

There, adjacent to the nerve responsible for hearing, sat a small tumor. Such tumors are sometimes called acoustic neuromas, a misnomer because they arise from the balance nerve and are technically vestibular schwannomas. They are not cancerous, but can cause problems with balance and hearing, and can become life-threatening if they press on critical parts of the brain. Youngquist had already lost a substantial amount of hearing. Surgery was advised to preserve what remained.

"My doctor referred me to Dr. Larry Duckert, an expert on these kinds of tumors at UW Medical Center," Youngquist said, "and I'm glad I decided to go there. At first, I thought the surgeons would just be able to go through the ear canal and take the tumor out. But Dr. Duckert explained to me that this would be brain surgery. I met with Dr. Robert Rostomily, who would be the neurosurgeon working alongside Dr. Duckert in the operating room." Duckert is a neurotologist, a specialist in nerve disorders of the ear.

Duckert and Rostomily explained various treatment options, their benefits and potential risks and drawbacks to Youngquist. At first, Youngquist said she felt terrified and overwhelmed by the prospect of surgery in the delicate area of the skull base. Nevertheless, she made the decision to have the surgery as soon as school let out for the summer. Realizing that she would be in good hands, a peace came over her and she didn't worry.

"The doctors and all the staff at UW Medical Center were awesome," Youngquist said. "The surgery went faster than was expected. My head cooperated, the tumor was easy to get to, and there were no complications." The surgery was June 30. She met her goal to leave the hospital before July 4 to celebrate Independence Day with her family and friends and watch the fireworks from their house.

Youngquist had to practice walking with her husband's assistance to regain her sense of balance. She can now walk easily on her own. Her training as an exercise teacher paid off. Many people attribute her quick recovery to her high level of fitness. As soon as her staples were removed, she and her husband took their boat out on the water, one of their favorite activities.

She has hearing remaining in her left ear, but understanding conversations in crowded, noisy places is difficult. A little bit of buzzing continues in one ear, but she said she no longer notices it.

Youngquist quickly went back to the outdoor sports she enjoys: hiking, running, swimming, and skiing. She mentioned a new, favorite outdoor activity: taking her 19-month old daughter, Maci, to the park near their home in Ellensburg, Wash., where they moved just before Maci was born. She and her husband are expecting their second child in October.

"I have a whole new outlook on life as a result of my experience," Youngquist, who is now 28, said. "My family has grown closer, and I appreciate how precious life is."

Written by Leila Gray, writer and editor for News and Community Relations for UW Medicine/Health Sciences.