NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Most people probably don’t want to be awake while a doctor performs major surgery on them. For one young woman, however, she wasn’t just awake during brain surgery, she was singing!
During brain surgery to remove a tumor at Vanderbilt Medical Center, 24-year-old Jayden Zientara performed sang the names of the 50 U.S. states. Doctors were working to excise an astrocytoma tumor approximately the size of her fist.
Contrary to being continuously conscious throughout the procedure, Jayden was initially under anesthesia. However, toward the end of the surgery, she was awakened so the doctors could assess her brain functions. For this assessment, Jayden’s speech pathologist was responsible for devising a suitable test. It was Jayden who proposed the idea of a music recital as her test.
“I’m in touch with music. I always have been,” says Zientara, who works as a nursing assistant in the same hospital, in an online video post.
“I played clarinet when I was younger and I was in musicals too, so I suggested the ‘Fifty Nifty’ state song for me to sing back to my therapist. I’m sure we sang it at school for Veterans’ Day or something and I’ve just never forgotten it since pretty much 2nd grade. The surgeons actually had to turn the radio off during surgery too as I kept singing the songs and not answering any of their questions – that’s how much by brain is just in tune with music.”
Jayden first realized something was amiss last year when she began experiencing persistent migraines. Initially, she attributed these headaches to her hectic lifestyle and the long 12-hour shifts at work, not giving it much thought. However, when medication failed to alleviate her symptoms, she underwent a CT scan that revealed a large grade two tumor.
Her oncologist explained that such a tumor is exceedingly rare among individuals her age, typically occurring more frequently in men over 40 and children under two. Following the diagnosis, Jayden was promptly scheduled for an MRI on Nov. 26, 2023, and underwent surgery just four days later.
The operation lasted 12 hours, during which surgeons successfully removed approximately 85 percent of the tumor. Despite the frightening nature of her condition, Jayden found solace in her professional background. Working in the medical field and being accustomed to medical situations helped her remain composed in the lead-up to her surgery.
“Being in a medical field I see stuff often, so I was very calm before the surgery,” Zientara says. “Of course, I got a bit nervous 30 minutes before, but I wasn’t overwhelmed or anything. I had only my tonsils out before so going from a simple surgery like that to brain surgery is huge. But my surgeons really put me at ease and spoke to me every step of the way, I had full trust in them.”
Jayden is set to begin a combined treatment regimen that includes chemotherapy in pill form and radiotherapy. The radiotherapy, specifically proton radiation therapy, will span six weeks, followed by a one-month hiatus. After this break, Jayden will continue with only the chemotherapy pills for an additional year.
While she expresses no apprehension about undergoing the treatment itself, Jayden does have concerns regarding the potential side effects.
“I’m mainly worried about the tiredness as I’m a very active person. I know there will be days where I’m just too exhausted and I’ll just want to stay in bed all day,” Jayden says in her video.
If the course of radiotherapy and chemotherapy doesn’t work, there is a possibility that more brain surgeries will be needed in the future. However, Jayden is remaining positive and has plans to turn her TikTok account into a video diary where she can share her journey and help people going through a similar experience.
SWNS writer Samuel Wightwick contributed to this report.