Mar 5, 2008 2:20 pm US/Eastern
N.J. Cheerleader, 11, Returns After 118th Surgery
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) ―
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Michaela Healy, 11, who has had more than 100 brain surgeries, received a cheerleader's welcome home March 4.
CBS
An 11-year-old New Jersey girl received a cheerleader's welcome after returning home from a month of surgeries to relieve fluid on the brain.
Michaela Healy had been in California, where she's had more than 100 surgeries. Now she can't wait to get those pom-pom's back in her hands.
The Showtyme All Stars of Washington Township, N.J., went from cheers to happy tears when Healy arrived in Philadelphia on March 4 after receiving her 118th brain surgery.
"I was really surprised and I was so happy just to see them all and get back to normal and see them again," Michaela said.
"My daughter has a condition called hydrocephalus, which is fluid on the brain," Michael Healy said. "There's no cure for the condition. It's a chronic illness that needs to be treated on an as needed basis. It is something she has endured for 10 of her 11 years of life."
Diagnosed when she was only a year old, Kayla, as her friends call her, has tried to live a normal life, scheduling her surgeries around school and cheerleading whenever possible.
"I'm so used to it by now, I really don't care anymore. They'll be like 'OK, you need surgery.' I'll be like, OK, it's all right," Michaela said.
"She has an awesome attitude about everything and a great personality, she goes through a lot and she's my hero," sister Meghan said.
Michaela's teammates even brought her uniform and suited her up.
But even this upbeat little lady admits that every time she and her mother have to leave her father and two sisters for another surgery, reality sets in.
"It was really hard because I couldn't see them and it was hard to leave them because we always hang out and we couldn't do that," Michaela said.
However, now she is back and there is no stopping her.
Michaela flew cross-country for the operation is because her neurosurgeon relocates to different hospitals. Her family said they decided to follow the doctor.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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