Harnett Beauty Queen's Latest Win Does Not Come With Crown

Brooke McLaurin looks like a beauty queen with her eyes and her smile. The only blemish is a little spot behind her head.

"You know, you just never think that tomorrow you'll wake up and be told that you have a brain tumor," she said.

"How do you look at your child and say, 'You have a brain tumor and you've got to have emergency surgery?'" said Teresa Carter, Brooke's mother.

McLaurin went to the hospital for emergency surgery. The surgery went well, but a few months later, she started having problems again. Doctors found that part of the tumor was still left behind. McLaurin went for a second operation and like the first, she came out smiling.

"It's a stepping stone in my life that has made me more of the person that I am now and that's OK," she said. "I'm stronger because of having to endure two brain surgeries in one year. Everything molds you into who you are."

Among flowers and get-well cards, McLaurin said she is flying high.

"I'm ready just to get on with my life," she said.

Doctors found that the tumor was not cancerous. McLaurin said she will have to get regular check-ups for the rest of her life, but it seems as though the battle is behind her.