I won’t let me brain tumour stop my high hopes

FIVE years ago high-jumper Amy Pejkovic was staring death in the eyes. Now she’s back in the hunt for gold, sharing her amazing story of courage and bravery in an exclusive interview with The Saturday Telegraph.

High jumper and brain cancer survivor Amy Pejkovic is overcoming her fears and training hard. Picture: Richard Dobson

FIVE years ago high-jumper Amy Pejkovic was staring death in the eyes.

Now she’s back in the hunt for gold, secretly training to prove she’s worthy of competing in the Tokyo Olympics.

Today she shares her amazing story of courage and bravery in an exclusive in-depth interview with The Saturday Telegraph.

The Sydney athlete and model was diagnosed with a 5cm cancerous tumour in her brain aged just 19.

The now 24-year-old, who at her peak was ranked No.2 in Australia, was written off following the shock 2012 diagnosis.

At her peak, Amy Pejkovic was ranked No. 2 in Australia. Picture: Supplied

“For a few months I was suffering severe headaches, dizziness, loss of balance and I’d vomit for no reason,” she says.

“So my mum took me to the GP and they thought I had a middle-ear infection. But mum thought that can’t be right. You could call it mother’s instinct, but the day after my 19th birthday, she took me to ER.

“I had a scan and at the time I thought it was all a bit of a joke.”

That’s when a nurse told Pejkovic she had “bad news” — she had a “brain tumour”.

“I actually get really teary when I think about it,” Pejkovic says.

“I remember she put the scans up on the light box and there was this wide blob in the middle of my brain. When people say life flashes before your eyes, it really does.”

Five days after the diagnosis, the young athlete went into surgery. She had to sign a waiver to say she wouldn’t sue the hospital if something went wrong.

“Death crossed my mind, of course it did. I didn’t know if I would ever walk or talk again,” she says.

Getting her life back on track after the diagnosis didn’t come easy for the Chic model, who has since landed big campaigns with Stella McCartney for Adidas, David Jones and Country Road.

Amy Pejkovic combines her sport with work as a Chic model. Picture: Supplied

Despite hitting the ground running six months after surgery, the partner of Greater Western Sydney AFL player Adam Tomlinson reached breaking point two years after her initial diagnosis.

“They say post-surgery you tend to get a bit depressed after six months because you go through a bit of post-traumatic stress,” she says.

“For me it happened two years ago. It all caught up with me and mentally I was a complete mess.

“I was depressed and had anxiety. So the past two years have been a constant mental battle.

“If mentally you’re not ready, your body is not going to be ready.”

Amy post-surgery after getting her brain tumour removed in 2012. Picture: Supplied

But now both Pejkovic’s mind and body are prepared for her big return.

The Saturday Telegraph can reveal she been training in secret for the past year in a bid to return to top form.

“I am hoping to make the Commonwealth Games next year, the World Championships the year after, then the Tokyo 2020 Games,” Pejkovic says.

“I am slowly getting back to where I was. You never really know until you start competing again just where you are at.

“I’ve been training on the down-low twice daily, every day aside from Sundays for the last year.

“I think I’ve got a good chance. If I really put my head down, bum up, the hard work will pay off.”

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Pejkovic says after her close call the sport actually “means more” to her.

Helping her get back on track is the striking blonde’s boyfriend of eight months, Giants defender Tomlinson.

Amy and boyfriend Adam Tomlinson at the GWS AFL Awards Night last October. Picture: AFL Media/Getty

“He has helped so much,” she says.

“He reminds me of my mum. They both see the potential I have.

“My biggest fear is fear itself. I don’t want to fear anything. I try to accept this has happened to me but move it to the side.

“I talk about it like it was a story and try to remove myself from it.

“It happened and I can’t change that, but I have to accept it and move on and not let it rule my life — not let my tumour define me.”