About Nick

Hometown: Columbia

Public Relations Interests:
Entertainment or consumer

Favorite Social Media:
Facebook and Twitter

Dream Job: Working for a PR
agency in New York City

Favorite Band: OneRepublic

Favorite Spot on Campus:
McKeldin Mall on a sunny day

SEO: Nick Smith went down in medical history with face tumor

One for the medical books
Nick Smith shocked doctors, made medical history with face tumor

The inaugural week of Nick Smiths junior year of
high school entailed more than just swapping summer stories
and reviewing syllabi. He couldnt sleep the night before his
second day of classes, but not for the reasons one would
think. I was sleeping and a sharp pain on the right side of
my face woke me up around 5 a.m., he said.
Smiths mother rushed her son to the hospital. After
enduring a CAT scan, an MRI and hours of waiting,
doctors delivered a diagnosis.
At 15, Smith, a sophomore communication major, made medical history when
specialists diagnosed him with a fibroid, a benign tumor
usually found in the uterus, behind his right eye.

Fifteen minutes of medical fame
Doctors originally identified Smiths growth as
shcwanommma, a benign tumor. When he underwent
surgery in December 2010, doctors discovered that
Smiths tumor was a fibroid.
Smiths mother, Kim Dixon-Smith, said that as far as doctors knew, no one had
ever had a fibroid in that part of the body.
(more)
Nick Smith, 19, set a medical record
during his junior year of high school.
Source: Nick Smith
Molly Ellison, Slice-of-Life, Tumor, p. 2
I was in a state of disbelief, Dixon-Smith said. We had gone in because his
mouth or tooth was aching. This changed everything.

Looking back while moving forward
Smith and his mother said they found consolation in friends and family in the
months preceding the surgery. One of Smiths friends had 100 of his classmates sign a
get-well card, Smith said.
Without our family unit in place, my coping wouldnt have been up to par,
Dixon-Smith said.
In the year following his surgery, Smith endured monthly MRIs. Now, he
receives one every six months. Smith said that doctors believe the tumor will not
resurface but are monitoring him because of his diagnosis.
Now that I think about it, it happened so randomly, Smith said. My mom
always says that God or a higher power made me aware of it.

###