Monica’s life changed on 9/27/22 when she went in for an eye exam. What was supposed to be a low profile eye exam, ended with an urgent referral to the ER after some concern about the appearance of her optic nerves. 

After a 7 hour wait at the ER, she was finally roomed and sent for her first MRI. The neurology team discovered a mass on Monica’s brain, which warranted an admission to the hospital and more scans of the brain and spinal cord. On 9/29/22, the neurosurgeon decided the best plan of action was to resect what he could and perform a biopsy. The procedure went as planned, and Monica was able to return home after only 2 nights in the ICU! 

To say she is a boss is a complete understatement, but did we expect anything less from the one and only Monica Winkelmann? 

31 staples and some hardware later, Monica recovered well at home. She had remained herself through the entire process, cracking jokes and “just mad chillin”. The outpouring of love, support, meals, etc. had been incredible from her amazing group of friends and family.

She received about eight months of chemo and radiation and hasn’t needed any additional treatment since July 2023. Every three months they take an MRI to see if anything is looking wrong, but every MRI she’s had has been looking good! 

Since then, she’s been building up strength to work as much as she use to. Now she is her nephew’s full time nanny and also upholds a manager status at the Twisted Vine in Papillion. To state that Monica is amazing is an understatement. She’s the light of everyone’s life and you can’t not laugh when she’s around due to her incredible sense of humor and love she holds. I adore this woman and many others do, too 🙂