East Grand Rapids — For the first time in five years, Adalae Reifinger is cancer-free.
It took a harrowing surgery to get there — one that took her out of school for months and left her with limited use of her dominant left arm — but the East Grand Rapids High School senior is now looking to the future with guarded optimism, and clarity about what she wants to do with her life.
“I try not to be super hopeful, because, for the past five years, I have a great time in life and then, boom, immediately life knocks me down a few pegs. But I try to stay hopeful,” Adalae said.
She noted that her experience with cancer has helped her settle on a career path: nursing. And by focusing on pediatric oncology specifically, Adalae hopes to help young people going through experiences similar to her own.
“I’ve had a lot of nurses — a lot of not-so-good nurses, but a lot of amazing ones — and the one thing they all lack is personal experience, and that’s something you can’t train,” she said. “Being able to understand what my patients are going through, I feel like I can make them actually feel better.
“And I definitely just want to give back to the people who’ve given me a second chance at life.”
Her Cancer Journey
Adalae was first diagnosed with epithelioid sarcoma — a rare and aggressive form of soft-tissue cancer that tends to affect young adults — when she was in eighth grade.
“I had a tumor the size of maybe a grape on my left forearm,” she recalled. “I had a seven-hour surgery that December, and they took a skin graft from my left thigh, and they put it on my left forearm. It was just a thin piece of skin, and they put it on there when they scraped everything out.”
Things went OK for a while after the procedure, though Adalae would periodically have to have minor surgeries to remove suspected recurrences.
“I was in remission, kind of, for about a year. And then, sophomore year-ish, it came back. I did 40 rounds of radiation. That was every single day after school,” she said. “And then I took chemotherapy — the pill kind — twice a day for two years.”
The chemo and radiation treatments kept things at bay for a time, but during the summer after her junior year, Adalae noticed another bump growing on her forearm. A test revealed that the new growth itself was indeed cancerous, but Adalae felt there was more going on. A deeper bone biopsy showed that the cancer had spread throughout her arm — into the bone, tendons, ligaments, muscles, blood vessels and more.
Adalae was referred to a specialist in New York City who recommended a microvascular reconstruction surgery using free tissue transfer, a 15- to 20-hour intensive procedure that removes cancer-damaged tissue and replaces it with healthy tissue from another part of the body. For Adalae, that meant taking skin, bone, muscle, nerves and more from her leg and transferring it into her arm. Her wrist was removed completely, and a metal brace was installed in her left arm to anchor it together.
“Basically they took everything out of my arm and reconstructed it,” Adalae said. “And everything that’s in there is either new or in a different spot, or trying to work for a different finger or a different muscle.”
Readjusting
The surgery required a two-week inpatient hospital stay during which Adalae had to get used to walking with a missing bone in her leg.
She was out of school for months during the early stages of the recovery process. Her surgery was in October, and she didn’t return to school until January. Her left arm is still in a bulky black brace, and she’ll spend the next year in occupational therapy, relearning how to use her left hand and arm.
“My biggest goal right now is to make a fist,” Adalae said. “I have yet to make a fist because my fingers — they don’t work how they need to.”
All signs point to the surgery being a success, but school has been a challenge — not only because she missed so much time, but because she’s been doing everything one-handed.
She’s finally started trying to write with her left hand again, but it hasn’t been an easy readjustment. She has pain and limited mobility, and she’s working with nerves that are still getting used to their new position in her arm.
“It just takes so long, because my fingers don’t move how everybody else’s would,” she said. “So with school it’s been really hard because teachers, they’re not gonna slow down just for one kid.”
Time, Effort & Tears
Though it’s been a struggle, and she’s had to take some classes on a credit-or-no-credit basis, she’s managed to keep her grades up, and she currently has straight A’s in the classes for which she is receiving letter grades.
“It takes a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a lot of tears and breakdowns and stuff, but I have always kept good grades. … Why is this any different?” she said.
She did have to say goodbye to lacrosse and swimming — two sports she used to participate in and enjoy. But she said she’s come to terms with that; it’s just one of many things she’s choosing not to worry about too much, because it’s beyond her control.
Despite all the hurdles, Adalae’s plans for college haven’t changed. She’s been accepted to Western Michigan University’s direct-admit nursing program; as soon as she gets her prerequisites out of the way, she’ll have a spot in the program ready and waiting for her.
‘I definitely just want to give back to the people who’ve given me a second chance at life.’
— senior Adalae Reifinger
She’s looking forward to college, and she’s feeling optimistic about her health outlook.
“I’m hopeful,” she reiterated. “And I’m super excited for a fresh start (in) college.”
Adalae’s teachers and administrators are fully in her corner. Brian VanderBee, Adalae’s math teacher, called her an “amazing young woman,” and applauded her commitment to academic excellence, and her unfailingly positive attitude, even in the face of such great challenges.
“The determination and positivity that Adalae has shown are a testament to her remarkable strength,” VanderBee said. “Her ability to focus on academic success — and overcoming physical and emotional hardships — instead of on the setbacks themselves, is truly inspiring.”
EGRHS Principal Alex Schukow echoed that sentiment, also singing Adalae’s praises.
“Her kindness and dedication to developing caring relationships exemplify the incredibly positive impact she has had on our school,” Schukow said.
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