A scenario that started a chain of life-changing events for Bridgeport High School graduate Isabella Petroff taking place on Jan. 16, 2023, would not be considered a positive by most. For Petroff, however, it became positive in ways she never imagined.

 

It was on that day the 2022 BHS alumna was driving her Honda HR-V with a group of friends. They were heading to Pittsburgh with a one-day break from studies at West Virginia University.

 

“It was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and we decided to go shopping. We were a mile, maybe two, outside of the tunnels in Pittsburgh when we were involved in a four-car accident,” said Petroff.

 

Damage was done to all the cars, but none of the four were totaled. Even better, there were no injuries, Petroff said. Despite there being no injuries, the accident would end up potentially saving her life and set in motion an almost unbelievable story.

 

“Afterwards, I had neck problems and some pain in my neck and head, which I had dealt with before,” the future 2026 graduate, and current sophomore, of WVU, said. “I ended up going to see the doctor to have it checked out. The x-ray they did looked fine and they suspected it was whiplash, so I was on my way.”

 

While there was still pain, Petroff said something just did not sit right with her. She returned to the doctor and pushed, at a minimum, to get a CT scan. Her persistence, along with the accident, proved to be the first of two steps involving medical procedures that helped discover a potential life-threatening problem.

 

“The scan showed something, but they weren’t sure. They also said it was possible I was moving my head during the procedure, so they wanted to do an MRI to make sure,” said Petroff. “The MRI (the second step) showed the problem.”

 

The problem was identified on Feb 7. On that day, the MRI revealed a tumor in the right frontal lobe of her brain. The medical professionals thought they knew what type of tumor it was, but until it could be removed, it remained unknown. And after meeting with multiple neurosurgeons, it was determined that the tumor would be removed with no testing prior to the surgery to remove it.

 

In May of last year, Isabella Petroff found herself in an operating room at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for a craniotomy, which is a surgical procedure in which a part of the skull is temporarily removed to expose the brain and perform an intracranial procedure. She spent four hours in surgery.

“They were able to remove the entire tumor and removed margins around the tumor. The surgery was a success,” said Petroff.

 

The surgery did another key thing. It identified the tumor as cancer – Oligodendroglioma, which is the cancer the medical staff thought it would be. It is a brain cancer that is rare, and also more common in adults than children. It can be deadly.

 

“They told me the news they had gotten it all when I awoke from surgery, and what it was. They told me the next day the grade of the tumor. It was early and was not aggressive. The margins were also clear.”

 

It has been nearly a year since the surgery. She avoided radiation and chemotherapy and, as long as there are no recurrences, she will avoid both entirely.

 

The surgery disrupted her life. It also changed her perspective on life. She decided before fall semester at WVU she would try to live life to her fullest, but also focus on rest and relaxation as she healed.

 

“I was sleeping a lot, but I didn’t want to exert myself too much,” said Petroff. “I wanted to heal up and be ready to get back to school, and really enjoy life again.”

 

If the story ended there, it would be an amazing one. But there is an added chapter to Petroff’s cancer story. And it is one that puts the icing on an already wonderful diagnostic cake – even if the closing chapter had a bit of an early hiccup.

 

Petroff and her boyfriend, Zak Koanda from Fairmont, and an employee at Bridgeport’s Pratt & Whitney, made plans to see Drake, the highly popular Canadian rapper and singer. The plan was to see him perform in the same city where was heading to when she had her wreck in Pittsburgh.

 

“We couldn’t make it, and the next available date where we could both go to a concert was in New York,” she said.

 

The pair headed off to UBS Arena in Elmont, NY, the home of the National Hockey League’s New York Islanders. Not only were they heading there, but they had some rather good seats. In fact, they were almost directly beside the stage during the March 29 concert.

 

Whether that played a part in what happened next is unknown. What is known is what Isabella Petroff did prior to going to the concert produced another life-changing moment – this one 100 percent positive.

 

“People are notorious for bringing signs to Drake concerts with messages on them. Some are serious, some are funny, and basically, just about anything,” said Petroff. “I decided to run with the idea and bring one. I knew I was going to hold the sign up. I didn’t know what would happen as a result.”

 

The sign had a simple and powerful message. “I Beat Brain Cancer.”

 

As the concert progressed, Petroff held up her sign. In short order, Petroff and the sign were on the jumbotron. There was only one issue. She had no idea, at first, she was being shown.

 

“I couldn’t see it. We were underneath the big screen because we were so close,” said Petroff.

 

That would change. As she held the sign, she could see Drake slowing down with his music and talking. On top of that, he was walking in her direction. Suddenly, multiple individuals with cameras were on her, as was the spotlight. Now, she knew. And if she did not, she would have known soon enough.

 

“He was right in front of me talking, praising me and others who battle cancer,” she said. “I was stunned, and then had this feeling of gratefulness for him doing that. Had that been all, it would have been plenty. I was over the moon emotionally.”

 

As Drake spoke, which included some concert-friendly profanity to drive his point home, he was about to put Petroff over the moon financially and into another galaxy emotionally.

 

“That’s the only sign I need to see tonight,” Drake said on the drakesxoworld Instagram account, where you can see the entire moment in the 41 second clip.

 

He then let Petroff, and the entire crowd know he was giving her $50,000 to enjoy herself. The moment, as it turned out, was an emotional overload in the best way possible.

 

“I just instantly started crying. I didn’t know what to do; I just started bawling and pretty much cried on and off for the rest of the concert,” she said. “It got my boyfriend too. Zak was in shock. He didn’t know how to react. It was hard to even know how to react to something you have no idea is going to happen.”

 

That is not the end of it. There is more. I guess you could call it a bonus chapter authored by Isabella Petroff herself.

 

Shortly after making the announcement, Drake’s staff got the necessary contact information. Petroff said they have to make sure everything is legitimate, and they have already started that process.

 

Well before the process is finished, Petroff knows where some of the money is going. The first may be expected. The other tells you all you need to know about this young lady.

 

“I’m going to take some of the money and spoil my family because they did so much for me,” said Petroff. “I also have two cancer research organizations I’m going to donate money to.”

 

One of the donations will go to the cancer she faced off with and that is the Oligodendroglioma Research Fund. The other is for the study of glioblastoma, another type of brain cancer that she did not have to battle.

 

So, why the donation there?

 

“I was watching another Drake concert clip and there was a girl there with a sign asking him for funds for research on glioblastoma because her father passed away from it. He didn’t see the sign, but I did … Hopefully, this will help in some small way.”

 

It will. And it is the perfect ending to an ironically beautiful story that is sealed perfectly with gratefulness.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Isabella Petroff after graduation in 2022 with her mother Melinda Petroff. Second photo shows where her Honda hit the back end of a Jeep in the four-game accident that led to her diagnosis. Third photo shows Isabella post brain surgery and on her way to recovery. In the fourth photo, she is with her boyfriend Zak Koanda at a WVU game and she is shown with Mario Skidmore and her father Joe Petroff and another WVU event along with Zak in the fifth image. The sixth photo is a picture of her being shown with her sign on the jumbotron, while Drake is shown talking to her in the bottom photo. All photos courtesy of Isabella Petroff.