It's been about a year since Carmel Young ventured into the Costco in East Anchorage to get her eyes checked. She says she's grateful for the doctor who referred her to a neurologist after he couldn't correct her vision.
That's when she found out she has a slow-growing malignant brain tumor in her optic chiasm, which was affecting her vision. After surgery, her eyesight was "noticeably worse." Having limited eyesight was stressful at first. She would constantly dart her head around to take in everything around her and avoid colliding with people.
But dance, and choreography, remains part of her life. She's a dance minor at the University of Alaska Anchorage and has been busy preparing for this weekend's showcase, New Dances 2016. She's choreographing and performing in a piece called "Love Stories."