Michelle Bailey’s path to graduation wasn’t easy, but this was nothing new. Life has always been an uphill battle for this wife and mother of three, who underwent her first brain surgery when she was 16.
After a years-long journey filled with unwavering determination, persistence, heartache and hard work, Bailey will graduate Saturday from UNC Pembroke, fulfilling her lifelong dream of becoming a college graduate.
“I’ve wanted my bachelor’s degree since I was nine,” said Bailey, 35. “The drive for me was the degree. That was the drive––to see my name on a diploma. It’s something I’ve wanted for so long.”
Bailey’s health challenges forced her to pause her pursuit of a degree more times than she can count.
“She is the poster child for perseverance,” remarked Vanessa Hawes, director of the Accessibility Resource Center at UNCP.
Bailey was in high school when doctors discovered a cyst on her cervical spine. She was diagnosed with syringomyelia and hydrocephalus––a neurological disorder caused by a buildup of fluid in the brain’s cavities. She underwent surgery to remove the pressure. Two more surgeries were needed in 2011 and 2021.
“It was scary,” Bailey said. “I didn’t know if I was going to make it out (of surgery) alive or end up in a wheelchair. I remember lying in the emergency room crying to the nurse, saying, ‘I don’t want to die here.’”
Her dream was to become a veterinarian technician. However, her plans changed after her disability progressed. She began losing motor functions in her arms and hands. Outside of feeding herself today, she relies on her husband, Damian, and others to assist her with all basic functions, including dressing and bathing. Through it all, she refused to give up on her dream and from her home in Virginia, Bailey enrolled in UNCP’s online sociology degree program. Saturday will be Bailey’s first visit to campus.
“Everyone has been extremely supportive in getting me to the finish line, from Ms. Vanessa (Hawes), my professors, my team of neurosurgeons and especially my husband and his coworkers. It took a collective group of people to get me where I am today, so my UNCP degree is something I will always cherish.”
