Just Like Me

Mary-Kaylin was supposed to go to Six Flags. At 9 years old, she was excited to ride a roller coaster for the first time at the Arlington, Texas amusement park.

Two days before the trip, her mother made an appointment with the pediatrician for an allergy shot, thinking allergies were the cause of her daughter's sudden and persistent headaches. As her doctor reviewed her mother's meticulous charting of each headache, he made a judgment call: "I don't like these patterns. You need to go to the ER."

The anticipated sounds of roaring and clanking roller coasters were replaced with the continuous hum and clicking of a CT scan machine. The expected bright theme park lights faded into operating room lights. The idea of childhood joy and family fun gave way to fear of the unknown, but also an unwavering faith.

Mary-Kaylin's world changed as she was wheeled into brain surgery at Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) in Little Rock 17 years ago.

"I'm playing chess with my brother in the ER, and they were like, 'Is this the right patient?' And then my mom was like, 'Yeah, this is Mary-Kaylin.' Then they had to pull my mom aside, and they said, 'She should not be alive. This is a miracle. We have no idea how she's alive,'" Mary-Kaylin Tran explained. "My brain ventricles were huge, what you'd see of a brain-dead child. I shouldn't have been walking, talking, speaking or even breathing. If my mom had not listened to my doctor, we would have gone to Six Flags, I would have been on a ride and I would have died."

After being diagnosed with a brain tumor that caused hydrocephalus, or abnormal buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain's four ventricles that can cause brain damage or death if untreated, Tran would call ACH home. Over the next 10 years, she underwent 10 brain surgeries to replace or repair the shunt placed in her brain, which helps divert fluid buildups.

Today, the 25-year-old has turned the unimaginable into her mission to advocate and bring a level of understanding to pediatric patients just like her as an ACH clinical research coordinator for neurology and a certified nursing assistant (CNA).

"There's been times where I've looked at a patient, and they would say something, and it's something that 'little me' said before. I get to give them the exact feedback that they need in that moment, and that's what makes me so grateful," Tran said. "I hate that I have this condition, but there are people out there who need people like me. God is a really big part of my life, so I rely on my experiences and what God would be saying to this child in this moment."

Horses and health care heroes

Tran had a picturesque childhood, as the youngest of two children, growing up on a Little Rock farm. She began riding her soul horse, Trigger, at about six years old.

"I had my friend Katy Bug right across the pasture from me. We'd ride our bikes, explore our terrain and we were always bringing home wild stories and random critters to our parents by dinner time," she said.

That day in the emergency room had a ripple effect on Tran's life. They discovered a tumor in her right ventricle that spread into the thalamus, the center of the brain that relays sensory and motor signals for the brain to process. Because of its size and location, it was inoperable. Surgeons placed a shunt to control the hydrocephalus.

The condition and occasional shunt malfunctions can cause headaches, sensitivity to light and sound, double vision and vomiting. According to the Hydrocephalus Association, a million people in the U.S. have this condition, which can affect people of any age. The only treatment is brain surgery - usually several throughout a lifetime - and it is the most common reason for brain surgery in children, the association stated.

Neurosurgeons performed at least 171 hydrocephalus-related brain surgeries at ACH in 2025.

Tran remained a carefree child because of her strong support system, but the seriousness of her condition would often bubble to the surface. She "demanded" to continue horseback riding and began competing in dressage, or horse ballet, to avoid jumping. She found solace singing worship music. She wrote a will at 10 years old.

"The first time that I had interactions with child life specialists at Arkansas Children's was on the day of my diagnosis in the ER. I felt I had to be super grown up, but they were trying to nurture the child in me that was still there," Tran said. "At that point, I was like, 'OK, time to be a big girl. I can't cry in front of my parents. I can't care that they're going to stick me with an I.V. to prep me for surgery. I can't care that I have a brain tumor. It's fine. I'm fine.'"

Being a consistent pediatric patient gave Tran a first-hand look at the best way to care for a child. She began noticing how her mother advocated for her and learned from the compassion she received from her Arkansas Children's care team.

Tran said her medical team, the late M. Gazi Yaşargil, M.D., known as the “Father of Modern Microneurosurgery,” Gregory Albert, M.D., chief of neurosurgery at Arkansas Children’s, who performed the majority of her surgeries, and Neurosurgeon Eylem Öcal, M.D., all shaped her view of what kind of doctor she wanted to become.

"Dr. Yaşargil saw one time I still had markers drawn on my body from surgery, and he goes, 'Who leaves markers on a child? They're not a clown,' and he wiped it off during his clinic. Dr. Albert would always explain things and ask me about what I was doing outside of being a patient. It was really cool that we could talk about my hobbies. He was kind of like a medical dad. My dad is very present in my life, but I was like, this is like the dad who knows everything," Tran laughed.

While it’s not typically the surgeon’s job, Dr. Öcal always made sure to wash Tran’s hair after operating, making sure there was no residue left from the surgery.

"Her reasoning was always, 'Well, I'm not coming in there to mess up your hair, I'm coming in there to fix you.' It was so sweet," Tran said.

As she got older, Tran joined the Youth Advisory Council at Arkansas Children’s, which consists of pediatric patients and/or siblings who help guide new programs and policies.

"We were able to speak out and have opinions, and we actually made an impact. I was part of the group that redesigned the classroom and picked out the paint colors, which was so special. Now I recruit my patients to the council," she said.

‘Help other kids like you’

Tran received her CNA certification and began working at ACH in 2019, restocking supplies, assisting the nurses and advocating for patients. Tran has worked primarily in the hematology/oncology unit, as well as in burn, neurology, neonatal intensive care and pediatric intensive care.

"There was a patient with an eating disorder whom I sat with for many hours. I've never had an eating disorder, but I know what it's like to be stuck in a hospital on a specific regimen. You're kind of ripped out of your kid world that you want to be in with your people," Tran said. "I don't give false hope, but if it's applicable, I tell them my story, and say, 'Hey, I used to be here.'"

Once a month, Tran made the roughly 14-hour round-trip back to ACH from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, for CNA weekend shifts.

"I wasn't ready to leave that mission behind," Tran said. "I was going back to basically check on my kids and see who's on the unit, who can I help today and how can I help my team out."

In 2023, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience with a specialization in medical Spanish from Baylor and a year later, met her future husband, Dr. Andrew Tran, at ACH. She had two emergency shunt surgeries in 2025, both after taking her Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). In addition to picking up CNA shifts on the weekends, she is a clinical research coordinator in neurology for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy under Aravindhan Veerapandiyan, M.D., known as Dr. Panda.

"I get to help families from all over the world gain access to research trials. Some of these families are making their last-ditch effort to improve their child's life. It's a very sweet and cool way to take care of and advocate for these families," Tran said. "I'm very thankful to be a part of Dr. Panda's team because you can tell he really values the heart of medicine as well as the excellence."

No matter what role she is in on a particular day, Tran is making the lives of her patients better: If they have a favorite song, she'll sing it to them. She studied Spanish to assist Spanish-speaking patient families. She takes the time to find out why a patient has missed an appointment, like when she connected a parent to social work to help with gas money.

Tran just knows what her patients need — even mild toothpaste.

"One of our patients wasn't brushing their teeth. They were refusing to, and I had been following them for years, and it was unlike them. I went in there and asked, 'Is that toothpaste spicy?'" she said, meaning the minty taste was too strong. "And they said, 'Yes.' I was able to go find some non-spicy toothpaste in the Arkansas Children's Dental Clinic."

While her career path has evolved, her core mission of advocacy has never changed. Tran plans to attend physician assistant school, with the goal of continuing to care for pediatric patients. But no matter what role she's in, Tran carries the wisdom of her childhood self to each patient at Arkansas Children's.

"Arkansas Children's just feels like home to me. A lot of scary things happen in this home, but we do our best to support and love each other and help each other whenever these scary things happen. Without Arkansas Children's amazing team, my family support system, my husband and God, I truly don't know where I would be today," Tran said. "Growing up here, there were lots of times where I had fear, but there were also lots of times I was supported and loved, which really created a resilience in me. Arkansas Children's is exactly where I'm supposed to be, and I feel that every single day I advocate for a child. It's like a little inner child moment, 'You got what you wanted - you get to help other kids like you.'"

This article was written by the Arkansas Children’s content team and medically reviewed by Mary-Kaylin Tran, BSc.