When Mia Gill of North Huntingdon had surgery in mid-August to remove a benign brain tumor, there was hope that it would end months of debilitating health problems. But she has been left with migraines, tremors, dizziness and light sensitivity problems that baffled doctors searching for a cure.
All the while, Gill, the 18-year-old daughter of Kevin and Trina Gill, has received an outpouring of support from family, friends, their church and the community. Mia, a 2021 Norwin graduate, had to defer attending Grove City College, and playing lacrosse, until next school year.
“People have been wonderful,” said Trina Gill. “We would not have been able to make it without everyone’s prayers.”
Mia’s Miracle Facebook Blog was created by Angela Mazur, a Norwin High School English teacher and Trina’s sister-in-law, with the goal of amassing as many prayer warriors as possible.
“We would not be functioning today if it weren’t for the prayers and acts of selflessness from everyone,” Trina Gill said.
Msgr. Paul V. Paul Fitzmaurice and St. Agnes Roman Catholic Parish in North Huntingdon held a community prayer vigil and have been leading rosaries and other group prayer sessions on behalf of Mia.
The Rev. John Moineau, priest at Immaculate Conception Parish in Irwin, is fighting his own cancer diagnosis. He dedicated his chemotherapy sessions and morning masses to Mia, Gill said.
Friends and strangers have cooked meals to enable the parents to spend more time with Mia, her four siblings — Lauren, 20; Kyle, 17; Evan, 15; and Claire, 12. Some even volunteered to stay overnight at the hospital with Mia to allow her parents time to rest at home, Gill said.
The Norwin Lacrosse Club, of which Trina had been president and Mia played, provided local restaurant gift cards.
A local family friend took in their youngest child to ensure she had a stable and low-stress first week of school, Gill said. Mia’s three best friends have spent time with Mia along with countless hours in prayer and rallying their college campuses to pray.
Another friend created “Mia’s Miracle” bracelets, which soon will be distributed to local businesses and schools, Gill said.
The family also will benefit from the Norwin High School girls volleyball team Pink Out fundraiser game against Hempfield Area, scheduled for Thursday at Norwin High School. The junior varsity game begins at 6 p.m. Varsity plays at 7 p.m.
Mia said she also has received a tremendous amount of support from the Grove City women’s lacrosse coach and her future teammates. They have been holding prayer vigils, and the college’s staff and other sports teams have been sending cards.
Their community of Lincoln Hills designed yard signs with the help of Mia’s former high school lacrosse coach, Mandy Pane, Gill said. The signs, asking for prayers, can be seen all over Mia’s neighborhood and beyond.
“The support from everyone has really helped me to remain positive and faithful,” said Mia, who will donate proceeds from the bracelets and yard signs to her local youth ministry group and the nonprofit “Hitting For Hope,” started by one of her best friends, Ryan Scavnicky.
Signs of health problems
Looking back, the Gills now recognize the tell-tale signs that something was wrong with Mia in the spring.
During her senior lacrosse season, Mia was off balance, dealt with injuries and was falling on the field. She said her vision was blurry, she had a lot of headaches and couldn’t sleep. The symptoms were rationalized as being the result of online school, looking at her computer screen, being clumsy and senior year stress.
A few days after graduation on May 28, Mia’s behavior began to dramatically change. She had been working at the State Farm insurance office in Irwin and was taking online summer classes through Grove City College when she began to black out and wasn’t able to concentrate on her assignments.
“I was a straight-A, honors student. I knew something was really wrong,” Mia said.
A series of medical tests and examinations did not discover the source of her health problems. Physicians were baffled.
“Everyone pointed to my insomnia as the cause,” Mia said. “I could not sleep for months.”
At Mia’s insistence, doctors finally ordered a CT scan in early August. It revealed a large tumor — a rare choroid plexus papilloma — filling a section of the rear of the brain.
The National Institutes of Health says that ventricles in that area of the brain produce fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Fewer than 200 people annually are diagnosed with that tumor, with the majority being young children, Gill said. Based on the calcification of the cells, the rare tumor had been growing for a few years, Mia said.
“Mia’s case is very unique,” said Gill, who has done extensive research on the illness to seek doctors, hospitals and specialists around the country.
Doctors were hopeful Mia would recover quickly from her Aug. 18 surgery because of her health and youth. Instead, she began to spiral further downward after returning home. She began suffering from neurological symptoms that put her back in the hospital. She continues to struggle with daily headaches and migraines, dizziness, tremors, heart rate dysfunction, confusion, insomnia, tingling in her limbs, light sensitivity and eye movement.
Even the simple task of writing a letter or looking at her phone is nearly impossible.
“The hypothesis is that removing the tumor set something off in the brain,” Gill said.
To get some exercise, Gill said they try walking around Indian Lake Park in North Huntingdon, but that is often a struggle, particularly if it is sunny, which bothers Mia’s eyes.
Mia and her parents went to Cleveland Clinic last week for an appointment with an autoimmune neurologist. Mia has been accepted as a patient at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where she will be examined by the chief of neurology in November. She also is awaiting appointments at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., Gill said.
Mia is expected to undergo more tests for possible neurological autoimmune issues, but they must wait until the treatments of intravenous immunoglobulin — antibodies taken from blood donations — no longer impact her system, her mother said.
Strong faith in God
Through all the struggles, Mia remains steadfast in her faith. She may study theology or biology at Grove City.
“I have witnessed and felt the miracles that have resulted from the power of prayer,” Mia said.
Her favorite Bible verse is part of 2 Corinthians 12:9. “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness,” Mia recited, saying it glorifies God in your weakness.
“Even when you are suffering, there is something to rejoice about,” she said.
Those who want to follow Mia’s prayer warriors and follow her recovery can go to the Facebook blog @MiasMiracleNetwork.