Student stays strong, graduates on time despite spinal tumor

It started with pain in her neck ““ a pain that would not go away, even after a trip to the chiropractor.

Then it progressed to falling down the stairs, sometimes 12 or 15 times a day.

Last April, her legs gave out when she tried to stand up out of bed. A few hours later, she was fine.

But on Angelica Galang’s 21st birthday, she was in so much pain that she was unable to go on any rides at Disneyland.

It was then that the fourth-year communication studies student decided to fly home to Northern California to get an MRI, since she thought she had a slipped disk in her vertebrae.

She knew something was really wrong when she saw her orthopedic doctor run down the hospital hallway to the X-ray room. Then she received news that there was a large tumor and two cysts in the center of her spinal cord.

“There’s no way to prepare,” Galang said, in reference to the discovery.

But after a difficult 10-hour surgery, countless hours of physical therapy, physical and emotional adjustment to her new life in a wheelchair and an optimistic attitude, Galang will be graduating this week with the rest of her class.

“Being able to graduate on time is really an accomplishment for me,” she said, adding that her commencement will be more than just a celebration of her academic achievement. “It’s the culmination of getting through the most difficult circumstance of my life.”

Galang left UCLA before the end of the 2009 spring quarter to evaluate her treatment options for the tumor, known as an ependymoma. This type of growth arises from normal cells that grow in the very center of the spinal cord, and it is difficult to remove, said Dr. Philip Weinstein, a professor of neurosurgery at UC San Francisco who operated on Galang’s tumor. He described her tumor as the size of a small sausage, a little over two inches long, that extended over the length of three vertebrae.

On June 15, 2009, Galang underwent the difficult, though successful, surgery. When she woke up in the intensive care unit in the hospital, she was unable to move her arms or legs.

A day before her surgery, she had worried about school and her classes. Now, she worried about feeding herself or picking up a pencil.

Galang spent two weeks in the hospital at UC San Francisco and then went for rehabilitation at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. She said the full days of occupational therapy were hard, as she had to relearn how to brush her teeth, hold a phone and apply makeup ““ tasks she had once taken for granted.

“She went from basically no movement to being able to walk with some assistance, which is a huge progression,” said Sara Stamm, a third-year communication studies student who visited Galang at the medical center.

With discipline, dedication and a positive attitude, Galang worked through the difficulties of her injury to make great improvements.

“Throughout it all, she was always into therapy,” said Theresa Morita, Galang’s physical therapist at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. “She was working hard, asked appropriate questions and always had that strong spirit in her.”

She continued to rehabilitate herself during fall quarter and returned to UCLA in the winter. But while she had become more accustomed to her physical condition, she had not yet dealt with the emotional aspects of her injury.

For the first few weeks of the quarter, Galang felt self-conscious of her condition and secluded herself in her dorm room, refusing to answer calls or text messages from friends.

“I don’t think she was aware of how much things would change,” said Karla Liu, a fourth-year psychology student and one of Galang’s friends. “She had a rough start, … but she made the best of her situation. I knew she would be okay and that it would take some time.”

To aid in the recovery process, Galang’s friends tried to make things as normal as possible and in time, Galang came to rely on her friends and family for support.

“Friends are all a part of the silver lining in some very dark clouds over the past year,” she said, adding that they never made her feel like a burden. “The social support I have here has been my backbone.”

Even though she is plagued by chronic neck pain, poor balance and lack of control over her hips and knees, Galang has not allowed her physical limitations to prevent her from experiencing life.

“It’s something to look up to … when you see someone living life even when they have obstacles,” said Eric Greer, a fourth-year business economics student and one of Galang’s friends. “Her positive outlook was really inspiring.”

Recently, Galang went rock climbing and ice skating with friends; she also stays active by riding an exercise bike, working with weights and doing aqua-therapy.

This summer, Galang will travel to Washington, D.C. as part of the Center of American Politics and Public Policy program, where she will research the media’s depiction of disabilities.

“Just because you’re in a wheelchair doesn’t mean you’re limited to the chair,” she said.

Galang is working to remove this obstacle, as she is able to walk well with forearm crutches and has already surpassed the expectations of some medical professionals who thought she would be bound to a power wheelchair with head controls.

“It’s quite possible that she will walk again,” Weinstein said. “With more time and practice, she may get there.”