Victories Award Winner Twilla Westercamp
At 24 years of age, Twilla Westercamp thought she was invincible. So when a ferocious headache struck one day back in the fall of 1975, followed by numbness in her left arm, Twilla was certain it was nothing serious. "Bad things don't happen to you when you're 24," she said. But this time it was something bad - at least something that initially seemed bad. At 24, Twilla had suffered a serious and debilitating stroke. "I thought I had lost everything I ever wanted."
But with the support of her husband, Dwayne, she attacked rehabilitation with a vengeance, learning to walk with a cane and cook with one hand. And just barely out of the Alegent Health Immanuel Rehabilitation Center, Twilla returned to work.
Before long, Twilla and Dwayne learned they were going to be parents for the first time, and less than a year following her stroke, Twilla gave birth to a healthy son. Six years later, Nikki, from Korea, joined their family, and five years later, Ben, also from Korea, became the Westercamp's youngest son. But upon Ben's arrival to the United States, his new parents learned that a large tumor on his right arm was malignant. Immediate amputation followed, but like his mother, Ben would excel, thrive and make it a non-issue.
Today, as the coordinator for the Alegent Health Cancer Genetics Program, Twilla proudly practices her profession, enjoys life with her husband, friends and family. All of the things she ever wanted, all of the things she thought she'd lost, are all very real, and a major victory scored for Twilla Westercamp.
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