Neighbor Spotlight: Hampton grad's book chronicles journey through brain surgery and recovery

Editor’s note: Neighbor Spotlight is a monthly feature that aims to let our readers learn more about the people in their communities who are working to make them a better place, who have interesting stories to tell or who the community feels deserve “15 minutes of fame.” If you would like to nominate someone as a Neighbor Spotlight, email Neighborhood News Network editor Katie Green at kgreen@triblive.com.

When Heather Rendulic began suffering a series of brain hemorrhages in 2011 that would require a risky surgery to remove the mass causing them, the then 22-year-old Hampton woman set her sites on accomplishing just two simple things if she manged to survive — walking down the isle carrying her bouquet and dancing with her new husband at their wedding reception.

Rendulic, 31, not only survived to reach those goals, she has made it her life’s work to help others facing the kind of challenges she believes have made her stronger.

“Not everyone is going to have multiple strokes that require brain surgery,” said Rendulic, a 2008 Hampton High School graduate. “But we all go through hard times — it’s inevitable. And while we can’t control what happens to us, we are in control of how we react to the situations we face.”

Rendulic, who now resides in Shaler, has chronicled her journey in a book titled “Head Strong: Through Life, Love and Brain Surgery.”

“As a result of the strokes and the surgery, I now have things that will affect me for the rest of my life,” she said. “So I’m hopeful that the book will provide other people with some of the tools and the mindset I’ve tried to develop to help me overcome what I’ve had to face.”

Rendulic said doctors determined that she suffered from “cavernous angioma” deep in her brain.

A cavernous angioma is a cluster of weak blood vessels that can cause seizures or bleeding. In her case, it was located on her thalamus near the brain stem.

While doctors were doubtful that she would be able to walk as a result of the surgery to save her life, she was determined to prove them wrong.

“I went through months of rehabilitation and therapy to learn how to walk again,” she said. “And I don’t have use of my left hand, which has been a struggle, but I manage.”

Rendulic said she also must undergo regular brain scans to monitor her condition and has had multiple surgeries over the past several years to try to improve her quality of life.

“The picture of my life I had since I was a kid suddenly crashed and burned when I was diagnosed,” she said. “But from the beginning, I was determined to overcome whatever I faced. So I wake up every day ready to fight hard to do that.”

While Rendulic is able to do many of the things she enjoys, she can no longer pursue her passion for horse riding and competing in hunter and jump events with Darius, a 30-year-old brown Belgian Warmblood.

“I was able to ride a few times, but when I tried barren racing, I fell off Darius and broke my arm in two places. So I decided it was time to hang up the stirrups,” she said.

Darius now lives on a farm in Butler County where Rendulic can visit.

Dr. Robert M. Friedlander, chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, said Rendulic’s positive approach to the challenges she faces is integral to a successful recovery.

“I tell my patients that 50% of the recovery process is controlled by their positive attitude, by a strong desire to do as well as possible,” Friedlander wrote in the forward for Rendulic’s book. “I did not have to tell this to Heather. She was all in and was going to do what it took to get through this challenge. She sure did.”

Friedlander said Rendulic’s “amazing positive attitude, even against immeasurable odds” is inspirational.

“Her story, in her own words, will provide strength to many others facing adversity. What a thrill to see Heather sharing her soul, her private life, through this inspirational book.”

In the years since the life-saving surgery, Rendulic graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and hopes to use her book as the foundation for a career in public speaking.

“I’d like to work full time helping people who are looking for ways to overcome the difficulties they are facing,” she said.

“I believe the things I’ve learned to deal with my problems could be useful to them. I want to help people know that they have the strength within to overcome their challenges.”