Junior finds connection with Westside teacher through family struggle

Teachers are there to teach us many lessons including Math, Science, English and countless more. One thing students may not realize is that they can provide life lessons too. Some students tend to see only the teacher but we need to see that they have other lessons to offer. French teacher Sarah Percival related to Junior Niyah Flanagan as she was going through struggles at home.

“I live with my mother and my step-dad,” Flanagan said. “I have a strong bond with my mother and my niece Gemma, who comes over every other day.”

Flanagan noticed one night that her mother was going to bed and wasn’t feeling well. Flanagan’s mom told her it felt like a bomb went off in her stomach.

“My great grandmother had passed away on my mother’s birthday, October 2nd,” Flanagan said. “We saw it as a sign because that night she went to bed with excruciating pain and we had no clue what it was.”

Flanagan’s mother had left for the hospital that night. She was extremely worried and couldn’t sleep once she found out her mother went to the hospital.

“Low and behold, without my knowing she left for the hospital in the middle of the night,” Flanagan said. “I stayed up all night obviously, I didn’t know what was happening.”

Flanagan spent the day at her aunt’s house because the rest of her family was at the hospital with her mom. Flanagan’s aunt found out the news driving home from dropping her niece off. Her aunt turned around to tell Flanagan the news on her mother.

“My aunt came back to my house, pulled up in her car and I looked out the window because I just wanted to see my mother,” Flanagan said. “I rushed downstairs and my aunt said ‘I think you need to sit down.’ I sat down on the stairs and I was anxious because I just wanted to see my mother. She says ‘I don’t know how to tell you this besides just saying it, your mom could possibly have cancer.’”

Flanagan’s mother was diagnosed with neuroendocrine carcinoma, a rare form of cancer on Oct. 4, 2016. This type includes various tumors, many of which aren’t cancerous but still cause pain and discomfort. If one of the tumors is allowed to grow then it can be life threatening. It affects the victim’s GI tract and is incurable.

“This type of cancer is super rare in people my mom’s age range,” Flanagan said. “The doctors were surprised that she had that type of cancer. I didn’t know how rare it was. Her doctor told us it was a one in a million case and I didn’t understand why my mom had to be the one.”

Flanagan said she didn’t know where to even begin with how to feel. Her mom was trying to stay strong and Flanagan felt the need to return the strength.

“All my mother would say is ‘I’m super woman;’ that’s all I heard,” Flanagan said. “I swear I don’t want to hear her say she’s superwoman again because she said it so much.”

Flanagan thought that things would improve at this point but their family hit another obstacle.

“A couple months later my mom lost her job, we had a problem with her insurance and couldn’t afford her treatment,” Flanagan said.  “We were struggling with money already at the time. She didn’t have any treatment for 30 days until she got her new job and her insurance kicked in.”

As time passed, Flanagan felt like things had improved and were beginning to go back to normal.

“Things got better, I felt like life was going to get better,” said Flanagan. “My mother was back to her old self. Everyday since we found out about her cancer I will never leave her without saying ‘I love you.’”

Flanagan was still attending school at the time but struggled with getting work done and focusing.

“I couldn’t get it out of my head,” said Flanagan. “She has cancer and it was all I thought about for weeks. I couldn’t tell anybody because I have no one to talk to. Who do I talk to because my mom doesn’t want anyone to know?”

All of Flanagan’s teachers tried to help her the best they could, including her dean Lois Rasgorshek.  

“I really didn’t want to do anything in school before but my deans told me to take my time and and helped me get back into things,” said Flanagan. “They were very encouraging towards me. When it comes to helping me out in school they probably saved most of my grades considering the fact that I didn’t want to do the work. We worked together in a way, I could always go to someone for help.”

Flanagan felt like she learned from the teachers that everyone is human and has a story to tell.

“All of my teachers shared personal stories with me,” Flanagan said. “They were being really supportive when I was going through that and I felt less alone.”

One specific teacher that reached out to Flanagan was her French teacher Sarah Percival.

“My french teacher was the first one to say something because she could relate to my situation,” Flanagan said. “She told me if I needed some extra help or extra time during this time period that I could have it.”

Percival said she found it important that students and teachers learn from each other and become more than just academically involved.

“I always like to get background information when a student is struggling with anything that exists beyond this classroom because I think it helps them realize that this is just a small part of what they have going on and it’s certainly not the most important,” Percival said.

Percival said it is helpful when students share their personal lives with teachers so that they can connect with their students better.

“I think it’s really important that teachers make sure students know that sometimes life happens and that’s the thing you have to focus on, not just the academics,” said Percival. “They have to say it in a lot of different ways, but sometimes that’s also kind of tough because some people don’t want to share those things.”

Flanagan said that she wants people to learn from her experience. She doesn’t want anyone to take family or friends for granted because you never know what might happen.

“It may sound cheesy, but definitely don’t take things for granted,” Flanagan said. “Actions can’t always prove to someone you care about them, sometimes you have to say it. Also, respect your parents because you never know when they aren’t going to be there anymore. I’m one of the lucky ones because my mom is still alive.”