A Little Girl, A Life-Threatening Tumor, And A Neurosurgeon’s
Healing Hands

Dr. Lenwood Smith, Division Chief, (second from left) is joined by the other physicians in USC’s Division of Neurosurgery: Dr. David Kee (far left), Dr. Thomas Anderson (back), and Dr. Raymond Sweet (far right). Not pictured are Dr. Sharon Webb and Dr. Burke Dial.

Her mother thought it was just a stomach bug. When seven-year-old Sarah Grace started throwing up at basketball camp that day, Dori Jarecki had no inkling that it was anything more than a typical childhood malady. She never could have anticipated that within two days her daughter would be transported by ambulance to Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital. 

Diagnostic tests at the hospital indicated that the little girl from St. Matthews was vomiting, dehydrated, and increasingly lethargic because of a half-dollar-sized tumor in the back of her brain. That’s when Dori and her husband Adam met Dr. Lenwood Smith. The neurosurgeon explained to them that Sarah Grace would require intricate surgery to remove the tumor.

The only fellowship-trained pediatric neurosurgeon in the Columbia area, Dr. Smith is no stranger to the gamut of emotions faced by parents of seriously ill children. “Any of us would climb any mountain if one of our children was sick and the help we needed was at the other side of the mountain,” he said. What Dr. Smith conveyed to the Jareckis was that there was no need to travel to a medical center hundreds of miles away for the type of surgery and sophisticated follow-up care their daughter needed. That level of expertise was right in Columbia.

A week later, after seven hours in the operating room, Dr. Smith removed a malignant tumor from Sarah Grace’s brain. The following weeks and months were a blur of radiation and chemotherapy treatments as her parents took turns shuttling her back and forth to Children’s Hospital. A reading teacher at an elementary school, Dori arranged her schedule so she could take Sarah Grace for treatments during her recess, lunch, and planning periods. “We’d hit McDonald’s drive-through afterwards and be back to St. Matthews within two hours. Our whole goal was to be as normal as possible in an abnormal situation,” she said.

That normalcy can be critical when families are dealing with a life-threatening illness. Dr. Smith explained, “When a child develops a serious medical problem, more than one terrible thing can happen to a family. Not only is the child sick, but a decision to seek medical care far from home means the parents can wind up being separated when they need each other the most. Mom usually goes with the child, while dad stays home, goes to work, and looks after the other children and the dog.” Dr. Smith is determined to communicate a message that’s been understated in the Midlands and surrounding counties: in the vast majority of cases, excellent neurosurgical services are available close to home.

Enhancing Neurosurgery Services

Sarah Grace Jarecki enjoys a spin on her golf cart with the family dog, Rhino.

Since Sarah’s surgery five years ago, medical services for families like the Jareckis have continued to benefit from the skill and expertise available from the neurosurgical team at University Specialty Clinics. This team of expert surgeons has grown over the past few years, and in 2008 the Division of Neurosurgery was created within the Department of Surgery. Dr. Smith provides the division’s leadership. The clinical component of the division, USC Neurosurgery, is dedicated to providing the most advanced care to patients with disorders and injuries of the brain, spine, and
peripheral nerves. USC Neurosurgery provides surgical and non-surgical treatment to pediatric and adult patients for a wide range of problems. These include congenital conditions, such as spina bifida, aneurysms of the brain; pituitary tumors; cervical spine disorders; head injuries; and Parkinson’s disease.

The division’s team of six neurosurgeons, one physician assistant, and four nurse practitioners also provides 24-hour coverage for neurosurgical emergencies at Palmetto Health Richland. Their depth of expertise was recently enhanced by the arrival of Dr. Sharon Webb. “We’re excited and proud that Dr. Webb, a Columbia native, came home to practice with us, ”Dr. Smith said. Plans are also in place to bring an additional physician on board.

The division also offers Gamma Knife radiosurgery, a sophisticated tool for treating brain tumors and blood vessel abnormalities without making any incisions in the patient’s skull. Radiation, in the form of gamma rays, is used to destroy the abnormality, re sulting in a quicker recovery period and less risk of complications.  “There is minimal radiation exposure to the surrounding brain,” Dr. Smith explained about the one-session treatment. The surgeons are also using interventional neuroradiology procedures in conjunction with specially trained neuroradiologists. With these procedures the surgeons can address a number of conditions with minimally invasive treatments instead of conventional surgery.

As this new division grows and matures, Dr. Smith is intent on building a strong network of referring physicians that comes to depend on USC Neurosurgery. “One of the missions of my career is to build a program of excellence in neurosurgery and neurosciences here at the USC School of Medicine. By doing that, 10 to 15 years from now it won’t be necessary for me to say that I can take care of your patient’s needs. It will be common knowledge,” he said.

As for Sarah Grace Jarecki’s parents, they were grateful that skilled neurosurgery services were only 45 minutes away when they needed them. “I can’t imagine if we had to go away and what we would have done without our community and support system,” said Dori, recalling how she and her husband’s employers, their church, and friends rallied around them during Sarah Grace’s hospitalization and treatment.

Today Sarah Grace is a healthy 12-year-old who enjoys playing with her sisters, Sydney and Sullivan, and filling sketch pad after sketch pad with drawings. She’s even toyed with the idea of teaching art classes when she grows up. Such aspirations warm her mother’s heart, especially when Dori saw how suddenly dreams can be threatened. “God put the right people in our path. There’s no doubt about that,” she said.

Reprinted from Connections newsletter, August 2008

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