It  ranks high on a list of accomplishments that includes learning to walk  and talk again, and finishing high school with his name on the honor  roll.

Scott was one of more than 700 seniors to graduate from  Aliso Niguel High School on Wednesday, an achievement that seemed  almost impossible following the diagnosis of a brain tumor during ninth  grade.

After missing the last part of freshman year and his  entire sophomore year, Scott came back to Aliso Niguel as a junior  focused on one goal: putting the past behind him.

"I was  basically thinking 'just get through high school,'" said Scott, 17, of  Aliso Viejo. "So I went back and did everything I used to do. It was  very different with all the changes, but I got used to it really fast."

The  changes Scott experienced were what most would consider challenges –  worrying about keeping his balance while walking from class to class,  or making new friends when former friends assumed he had moved away.

In the midst of adjustments, Scott's positive attitude never wavered, said his mother Kathy Linderoth.

"He's  been an inspiration to everyone," she said. "It's hard to see a child  go through this, but nothing slowed him down. There hasn't been a day  that Scott has said 'woe's me.' He's just the heartbeat of our family."

Throbbing  headaches started to plague Scott when he was 13. He and his parents  visited different doctors who concluded that the pain was either a side  effect of a sinus infection or the result from carrying too many books  in his backpack.

The headaches continued for one year until  Scott couldn't stand the pain anymore. His mother called the doctor  again and this time, Scott was told to take Tylenol and wait for the  headache to go away.

It never did.

Sitting in the  emergency room that night, Scott didn't show any signs of having a  tumor, Kathy said. He could touch his nose and flip his hands over.  Still, she and her husband Gordon Linderoth insisted on a CT scan, just  to be safe.

"The doctor came back within 10 minutes," a tearful  Kathy said. "He said 'your son has a mass the size of an egg in the  back of his brain.' That was at 1 a.m. It changes your life."

The  Linderoths traveled by ambulance to Children's Hospital of Orange  County where the tumor was removed the next day. Scott remained in the  hospital for three weeks after his surgery, a small length of time  compared to the seven weeks of radiation and months of physical and  occupational therapy that followed.

The tumor sat on his cerebellum, Kathy said, which affected his coordination and ability to speak.

"I  had to learn to walk and talk again," Scott said. "It was very  stressful because I was frustrated. Learning to do the whole thing  again when I knew how to do it was the hardest part I had to deal with."

It's  been more than three years since Scott's operation. Every three months,  his family is reminded of that day, April 13, 2005, when they return to  the hospital for Scott's MRI.

But he doesn't let the routine  doctor's visits get in the way of what he loves, namely math, bowling,  video games and Angels baseball.

He plans to attend  Saddleback College in the fall and continue his education at Cal State  Fullerton, majoring in business and finance. One day, he hopes to be an  accountant.

If there's one part of Scott's life that he wants  to get back, it's his involvement with baseball. He missed his chance  to play for the Wolverines, but doesn't miss a chance to play catch  with his dad.

"I struggle through it, but I get through it," he said. "I'm not the best at it, but that's OK as long as I try."