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Above: Sidney Stewart is taken care of by her mother, Kim Stewart of Woodstock, and grandmother Susie Stamper of Christiansburg at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta earlier this year. At right: Sidney Stewart has a goal of walking by April 25, her 13th birthday, says her father, Donald Stewart.

Courtesy of Kim Stewart

Then: "Dad, you need to take me to the hospital. I think I have a brain tumor." When Sidney Stewart said those words during the 2007 Thanksgiving holiday, her father, Christiansburg native Donald Stewart, told her not to say things like that because they aren't funny.

But as Sidney's headaches worsened, the family cut short their Thanksgiving visit to the New River Valley and returned home to Acworth, Ga.

Sidney had been having headaches for a few months, but they were becoming more severe and frequent, Donald Stewart said. She was soon diagnosed with medulloblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor that spreads through the body to the spine. She had the tumor removed in December 2007 but remained in Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Pediatric Hospital with a rare complication called posterior fossa syndrome that left her unable to speak and barely able to move.

Now: Sidney, now 12, went home July 4 after 219 days in the hospital. On July 31, she spoke for the first time since December 2007.

She must still use a wheelchair and will receive intensive chemotherapy until late February or early March, but Stewart said Sidney has a goal of walking by April 25, her 13th birthday.

"Her spirits are good," Stewart said. "She's flying around in her electric wheelchair."

Sidney entered the seventh grade on time, and currently does her schoolwork from home.

"She gets straight A's," her father said proudly.

The family had a scare in September when a routine MRI showed a spot on Sidney's brainstem in the same place her tennis ball-sized tumor was originally found. But follow-up MRIs showed that the spot hadn't grown in the past few months, so it's unlikely it's another tumor, Stewart said. It's most likely radiation scarring from treatment or a benign condition that will be monitored the next few months, he said.

The family still struggles with money. They have been on and off of insurance policies during Sidney's illness and may be dropped again when her medical bills reach the $2 million mark.

"Money's not the object now," Stewart said. "I'm going to have a lifetime of expenses, but that's the last thing on my mind."

The family -- which also includes mother Kim Stewart, a Riner native; 15-year-old brother Devan; and maternal grandmother, Susie Stamper of Christiansburg, who has been staying with the family since Sidney's diagnosis -- act as Sidney's nurses.

Donald Stewart said family members have relied on their faith in God to get them through the past year and give thanks for all the people who have lent their support the past year.

"There have been people that know Sidney and us, and the people that don't, and they all mean so much to us," he said.

Doctors expect Sidney will make a full recovery.

For updates on Sidney's condition or to leave a note of encouragement, visit caringbridge.org/visit/sidneystewart