Angie Mickle, Dean of the Cedarville School of Nursing, had never had a headache until a couple days before Halloween 2019. But when she had her first one, it was a real doozy. 

The headache that began on a Sunday stayed with her through Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. When she saw her family doctor, her neurological work-up was solid, and he suggested it might be stress. But when her pain became so debilitating over the weekend that she was unable to drive home from Columbus after an event, she knew for certain it was more than stress. Her CT scan on November 5 showed a brain tumor. 

And even though the initial diagnosis was terminal (it turned out to be benign), Angie experienced an overwhelming sense of peace. The successful nine-hour surgery removed most of the 4 1/2-centimeter meningioma. At the Lord’s leading, Angie later named the tumor “Joy,” referencing James 1:2-4. The surgeons thought “Joy” had been growing for 15 to 20 years undetected. 

“I immediately wanted to find a way to witness to people,” Angie shared. “By showing my friends, family, and my students pictures of my tumor, I was able to show how much vascular loss I had inside my head. But God was still sovereign. I had been able to accomplish so much with this tumor, with no knowledge that it was there, and He was just taking care of everything.”