Longtime Indian Lake Middle School seventh-grade intervention specialist Jean Newmeyer has experienced dozens of “first days of school” in her lifetime, but being back in her classroom this week is an accomplishment she has fought for with every bit of her strength and resolve.
Jean Newmeyer smiles as she answers questions and welcomes students on the first day of school Wednesday at Indian Lake Middle School. (PHOTO | JAMIE ROSS, INDIAN LAKE SCHOOLS)
“It was busy and a little chaotic. But it felt good to have some normalcy,” Newmeyer said after teaching students Wednesday.
In May 2016, Newmeyer had a knee replacement, but things didn’t heal up like they should leading to months of testing. Late in the summer, she was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer, known as a soft tissue sarcoma. Newmeyer took a leave of absence from ILMS and embarked on several months of surgeries and treatments to battle the painful stage three tumor in her leg.
“Everytime I thought I was improving, I got hit with something else. It’s been so much,” she explained.
Read complete story in Saturday’s Examiner.
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