My Fight
Hi I'm Ash and I am a survivor of a brain tumor. In 2009, when I was 16 years old, I suffered from a random onset of severe migraines that impacted my daily life. It was hard to see or even think and I could not even look at the light and had to stay in a dark room. While experiencing these symptoms I threw up clear fluid and thought how strange that was. I decided to go look up my symptoms on google (which I do not recommend anyone do) and saw that all the results pointed to brain tumor. I was scared but wanted to be brave for my family and went to my mom and told her I think you need to take me to the hospital. My mom agreed and her and my dad took me to St. Peters Hospital in New Jersey as they had a doctor friend working there. After being admitted and getting a CT scan, the doctor told us I needed an MRI immediately. Once these results came back, we were told that it was a brain tumor on the right side of my brain, The doctors let my parents know that I had to be operated on immediately as the mass was pushing my brain and shifting the midline. I was scared but was brave for my parents, as they were devastated. We were all so scared of the coming steps and what this meant for me. A lot of my family and friends came immediately to the hospital and they and my parents all sat with the surgeon who was going to operate on me and was able to ask him any questions. My parents told me how my family and friends asked him everything possible, even "grilled him" because of how nervous and afraid they all were. The surgeon gladly answered all questions and let my family and friends know how personal he takes every case and how he treats each patient as his child who suffered from leukemia. This gave my family a lot of reassurance and when the time came they all stayed and prayed while I went for surgery. Initially they were told that I would need a blood transfusion and it would be long. My family waited and then their buzzer went off, and that too earlier than the surgery time was. My parents panicked but were greeted with the great news that the surgeon removed the mass completely and that I was recovering well.
I was in the hospital for several days after learning how to walk after to being in bed for days and trying to get back to normal. It wasn't until I went to the bathroom one night that I looked in the mirror and realized what happened to me. My hair was shaved off on one side and I had a scary looking scar on my head. I cried and cried and cried. It was hard to accept this current reality and it took sometime to accept it, but as a survivor, its what we do. My diagnosis was unknown as the mass was not a typical brain tumor classification. It was not until 8 years later when I had a spinal cord lesion that I was finally diagnosed with a rare disease called neuromyelitis optica. My journey still continues till this day as I fight this and other autoimmune disorders everyday. As time has gone on I have come to accept who I am, my health issues, and how they do not define me but make me the strong, resilient fighter that I am today.
National Brain Tumor Society is fiercely committed to finding a cure for brain tumors. They are aggressively driving strategic research; advocating for public policies that meet the critical needs of the brain tumor community; and providing comprehensive patient, family and caregiver resources. Your support ensures this important work will continue.
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