CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Chippewa Valley High School and much of Macomb County is rallying around a beloved teacher and varsity volleyball coach who is fighting cancer at a young age.
It was January 9th when Nicole Wouters last visited Chippewa Valley High School -- that was the day before she found out she was diagnosed with lung cancer.
“I'm like, 'This doesn't make sense. What do you mean it's cancer? This has to be wrong,” Wouters said. “You've got the wrong results. I can't have cancer. I'm 27 years old, I'm healthy, I don’t smoke, I don't have cancer."
It wasn’t long before Wouters found out her cancer had spread to her brain.
“I said 'OK, well, there's nothing I can do about this now. Let's go see what we can do. Let's go figure out how are we going to beat this?” Wouters said.
She visited the school Thursday to visit the students and co-workers who she loves, who are standing behind her while she fights the disease.
Now on a leave of absence, she’s fighting the disease head-on and with an entire community in her corner.
Wouters said she plans to continue coaching and staying present at the school.
“I plan on coaching in the fall. I'm not going anywhere,” Wouters said. “Even if I have to wear a backpack with an oxygen tank on the sideline, I'm coming back.”
Wouters finds out in March if her chemotherapy is working, but she said success is her only option.
A GoFundMe account has been created to help Wouters through her journey to that success.
Sign up for ClickOnDetroit breaking news alerts and email newsletters
Search for a specific story: