After surgery to remove brain tumor, Bethel Park teacher continues to inspire students

A Bethel Park teacher is thriving after the scare of a lifetime. Doctors found a tumor on her brain, but it never stopped her from doing what she loves. Now five years later, she never takes a day for granted.

Inside K.D. Meucci's class at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in Bethel Park, and you'll find high-energy education.

"These kids are amazing. Just fill my heart with such love," Meucci said.

Meucci tries to instill a sense of strength and belief in each child, letting them know they can get through challenges and hard times.

"She just makes us believe in ourselves," student Cal Cuadros said.

"Everybody wants her," student Anisa Gorman said.

They're lessons Meucci used to get through some of life's hardest challenges. In the fall of 2021, she got COVID and recovered, but still felt off.

"I just thought I had COVID. We're in a COVID school year, which is really hard for everyone," Meucci said.

Meucci started seeing bright lights and feeling faint. She went to a hospital and after scans, she learned there was a tumor on her brain. AHN neurosurgeon Dr. Matthew Shepard scheduled surgery for her six days later. For Meucci, it was a hard time of fearing the worst and having conversations with family about if it didn't go well. Her children were 6 and 4 at the time.

"If I don't make it, take care of my kids. Make sure my daughter has a prom dress and all the things moms take care of," she said.

When she went in for the six-hour operation, Dr. Shepard saw the cards from students all around her and it hit him right in the feels, when usually he's laser-focused.

"That moment struck me with, look, we are not just operating on a tumor. We are operating on more than an individual and her family. We are operating on the community," Dr. Shepard said.

The surgery was a success. The tumor was benign and had meningioma. Those are slow growing tumors that give symptoms of headaches that won't go away, seizures, and neurological issues. Dr. Shepard said only one percent of people will get these, and unfortunately, there's no real explanation why.

For Meucci, this didn't slow her down. Since 2019, she would read bedtime stories to students once a week on Facebook Live. The day after the surgery was that day, and she didn't hesitate to keep it going from her hospital bed.

"I'm so swollen. I'm black and blue. I've got this hat on my head because I had brain surgery," Meucci said about the video she recorded that night.

"She probably goes down as one of the most motivated individual patients I've had since I started practicing neurosurgery," Dr. Shepard said.

Within three months, Meucci was back in the classroom. Dr. Shepard is now forever part of her family, and to that point, she has his face on earrings.

"I really do look at him like you are my hero. Without him, I don't want to think about where I could be," Meucci said.

Almost five years later, Meucci still goes back for MRIs to make sure everything is good. Right now, she is in a better spot physically and mentally. She is happier now than she was before.

"We just don't know what life is going to throw at us. We really need to seize the moment, live in the moment and be as happy as we can be," Meucci said.

That includes seeing the meaning of the family we're born with and the family we make along the way.