She’s looking on the bright side

These words — "Stay strong. Make them wonder why you're still smiling." — are written on a chalkboard in 12-year-old Tammi Hite's bedroom.

"Normally, when people go through hard things, they’re not very happy, so you expect them to be really down," Tammi said Thursday. "But if you keep your head up and keep smiling, people might wonder, 'How is she just so happy?'"

Most people probably wouldn't expect this courageous sense of optimism and positivity from someone who has been through countless trials and tribulations since receiving a brain cancer diagnosis April 30. This brave young lady was in the hospital for surgery to remove the tumor the very next day.

"It was huge,” her mom, Tristan Hite, said during a phone interview. "They wanted to get in and get it right away."

The cancer was discovered after Tammi had a minor wreck on her push-scooter. She began to limp on her right side and her movement became restricted.

“We figured the slow recovery was due to being cooped up inside during the quarantine. Her doctors agreed and sent us to a physical therapist,” Tristan explained. “The physical therapist realized it wasn’t a muscle issue and said we should get an MRI. The MRI showed that Tammi had a baseball-sized brain tumor on the left side."

Doctors found the mass and immediately operated. Tristan was told to prepare herself, because they expected Tammi to have to go to rehabilitation to learn to walk again.

"And we didn't, because she's a little miracle kid," Tristan said.

They also told her Tammi wouldn't be able to speak for up to a month.

"She came out of surgery talking the very first day, and she had all of her cognitive memory and she was little miss Chatty Cathy and cracking jokes and everything. I love her so much," Tristan said. "She literally walked out of there on Sunday, May 3, 49 hours after brain surgery."

The medical roller coaster then began.

She was sailing through radiation and chemotherapy for six weeks and randomly ended up getting appendicitis that was complicated by an infection. Then she was back in the emergency room with a double kidney infection.

“She’s had some side things that have happened that have tuckered her down, but she keeps getting back up," Tristan said.

All this has happened throughout an already tough time for 'tweens — a global pandemic that kept kids out of school and away from their friends. Some of Tammi's friends have quarantined for two weeks so they could enjoy a sliver of normalcy and have sleepovers.

"We've been doing things like spa treatments at home, and she and her girlfriends would have sparkling cider," Tristan said. "We’re doing everything we can to keep at home fun for her."

Tammi's cancer journey isn't done yet. Doctors found a wispy tumor in the back of her brain when they were removing the larger tumor, so she'll be undergoing more treatments and another surgery this summer.

This cancer warrior is used to working hard. She participated in competitive cheer for four years to become an advanced-level tumbler, and she excels in math, her favorite school subject. She also likes to draw when she's not busy with school or athletics. She'll be going into seventh grade at Woodland Middle School this fall.

And this long road to recovery ahead? She's got this.

"I'm feeling great," Tammi said. "It’s hard, but I feel like as long as you look at the bright side of things, it's easier if you keep happy thoughts in your head and keep family close to you."