When I was 14, I was smacked square in the forehead with a softball. My mom brought me to the hospital to make sure I didn’t have a concussion or a broken nose. I got a CT scan and it turns out I have neither! Except I have a sinus infection…. and a huge tumor right in the center of my brain. I had this tumor since birth, but lived life every day as if it were nothing. When I was a baby, I had red raised birth marks all over my head and consistent headaches. My neurosurgeon believes this may have been a sign of a tumor even though we cannot be sure. I had my surgery the morning of May 18, 2009. It last 10 hours and went on perfectly. My surgeon even used a new tool he had never used before! A month later, it turns out my skull is leaking and I now have a huge blood clot on the left side of my brain. After bed rest and minimal activity, I was back to being my old self. 9 years later, I still go for MRIs and deal with residual headaches but I am always happy to be tumor free!
