Welcome to My Personal Page
I am here today by the grace and mercy of God. I was blessed to be able to call myself a brain tumor survivor. However, there are many individuals who have shared my battle and have not had the same outcome. I have been doing all I can to raise awareness for brain tumors and help provide funds for research to help save lives. My story is a unique and scary one. The fact that I had a brain tumor that was hemorrhaging without any signs literally scares the heck out of me. I just woke up with a headache one day that I would describe as the worse headache of my entire life! I would have continued to believe it to be just a severely terrible migraine had it not been accompanied with vomiting. After seeking medical attention in the ED and been diagnosed with a black spot on my brain from a catscan, however, non-emergent. I was sent home and told to schedule an outpatient MRI. The pain in my head & pressure just continued on for about 2 days before I was able to get in to see my PCP. On the morning of my appointment, I awoke with a droopy right eyelid almost completely shut. They called this ptosis. Looking at myself this way with the head pressure and vomiting was so extremely worrisome. I was sent back to the ED with orders from my PCP to have an emergent MRI. Waiting for the results had been even scarier than the actual symptoms I was experiencing. Hoping, it was just a bad migraine, my worst fear was confirmed I had a brain tumor on the left side of my brain that was bleeding. They called this a pituitary adenoma with apoplexy. I was sent via ambulance to Jefferson Neurology ICU department and scheduled to have the tumor removed the next morning. My surgery was a bit different than most. I had the tumor removed from my nose. Because of the location of the tumor, pituitary, this was possible. I had to have 2 surgeons, an ENT to make way for the Neurosurgeon to operate on my brain. The surgery was 4 hours, and I spent a week in the hospital in ICU. Upon discharge, I was sent home with pain medication and nasal saline solution for my nose. I had lost my sense of smell and was unable to produce tears from my left eye. Three post-op visits with ENT to have my nose cleaned and monitored for infection or any other possible complications of the surgery. With having the tumor and time spent in the hospital, my gait (walk) was affected. It took about 3 months before I was walking properly again. I was out of work for 3 months and I was finally able to smell after my 3rd post-op visit with ENT. My smell is not as strong as it was before but it's there and I'm thankful for that. I get tired easily at times and I still have headaches that come and go but not as frequently. I'm a survivor and I only hope to be able to contribute to the fight to have more survivors like, myself. if there is anything you can donate to help me reach my goal of $1,000.00 before my walk on May 11,2024, it would be more than appreciated. Anything helps and anything is a blessing. Thank you for listening to my story!
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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