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Taken from an article by By TENA JAMISON LEE, Hendersonville Star News

Stacy Roberts attends T. W. Hunter School in Hendersonville, a Rogers Group adopted school. Please take a few minutes out of your day to send Stacy a card or note. Cards can be sent to Stacy at:

Stacy Roberts
124 Crestview Drive
Hendersonville, TN 37075

HENDERSONVILLE: A local girl has made what doctors and family members consider stunning progress after undergoing a lengthy and complex brain operation Jan. 16.

Stacy Roberts, 14, who remains hospitalized at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, has managed to sit in a chair and even utter a few phrases in the wake of surgery that doctors expected to leave her partially paralyzed and possibly unable to speak.

"We’re just totally overwhelmed," said Stacy’s mother, Sally Roberts, in a phone interview earlier this week from her daughter’s bedside. "We were expecting the worst and are just shocked she’s doing so well."

"She’s very determined and strong-willed. She wants to prove that she’s going to be the miracle child."

After a 12 1/2-hour operation in which a large portion of her brain was removed, the eighth-grader from T.W. Hunter Middle School is well on her way to making her case.

About a year ago, after six months of extensive testing, Stacy was diagnosed with Rasmussen's encephalitis, a rare condition that leads to the deterioration of the brain.

It is characterized by frequent and severe seizures, loss of motor skills and speech, paralysis on one side of the body, inflammation of the brain, dementia and mental deterioration.

Surgery was the only way doctors could stop the condition from worsening.

Stacy is scheduled to be taken next week to Mt. Washington Rehabilitation Center in Baltimore, where she will undergo intensive therapy for four to six weeks.

As soon as she can at least take a step with a walker or cane, Stacy will be able to return to Middle Tennessee, where she’ll continue physical therapy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Sally Roberts said her daughter hopes to return to school within a couple months. Students and teachers have sent cards and letters to Stacy and even put together a videotape wishing her well.

"I think the cards of encouragement have been helpful for her positive outlook," said Hunter principal Olivia Isenberg.

The community has embraced the family as well.

Rogers Group donated plane tickets to Baltimore and a stretch limo to take the entire family to the airport to see Stacy off. Enterprise Rent-a-Car arranged for a rental car for the family to use for two weeks while in Baltimore, and Hendersonville Mayor Jim Fuqua even declared Dec. 15, 2000, Stacy Roberts Day in Hendersonville. Others have helped out as well.

"I have so many thank-you cards to send out," Sally Roberts said. "I want to thank everybody for their support."

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