TAMPA, FLA. (WSVN) - A car crash isn’t the type of thing you’d expect to be a blessing in disguise. A Tampa Bay cancer survivor said her visit to the doctor for back pain stemming from an accident ended up saving her life.
Britta Devitt said it all started with a trip to the doctor’s office.
“I was having back pain, so I went to go see a doctor, and they were doing some treatment,” she said. “They did an X-ray, and things look OK.”
But Devitt was still having neck pains, so her doctors told her to get an MRI.
It was during the MRI that Devitt was told she had a tumor on her spinal cord.
Devitt was placed under the microscope for hours, as doctors worked to fully remove the tumor.
But one thing was on Devitt’s head. As an avid dancer and a runner, she had been training for an upcoming marathon before this, and she knew her journey was far from over.
“I asked my neurosurgeon, ‘Hey, I have a marathon coming up in November.’ I remember he took a deep breath and said, ‘Not right now. Like, one day, but not right now,'” said Devitt
“A neurological recovery is like a marathon,” said Dr. Andrew Beer Fulan, a neurosurgeon.
After the surgery, Devitt said, she had to learn to walk again, as well as feed herself, since the surgery affected her hand.
Still, despite all odds, the marathon day came, and the doctors gave her the green light.
“She really overcame all expectations. She was a really driven person, really set herself those goals,” said Beer Fulan, “and when she asked me, ‘Can I start running?’ I said, ‘Yes, you’re good to go.'”
In November, Devitt ran a 100-mile race all around Tampa Bay. Thirty-seven and a half hours later, she reached the finish line.
“We’re all going to go through hard things in our life, all of us, and this was kind of my hard thing, and there’s good that can come out of it,” she said.
Devitt is still facing impacts from her surgery, like neuropathy and other physical changes to her body, but she said she is determined to keep pushing through the tough times to stay active and do all the things she loves to do.
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