Step Up Today

Would you ever believe that a routine dentist visit could change your life forever?

On July 1, 2009, I went to the dentist expecting nothing more than a quick checkup. But when the dentist told me I needed a tooth extracted, they also recommended I get an X-ray. The X-ray facility was closed, so the receptionist suggested I visit a diagnostic center across the street for an MRI. Pressed for time before traveling, I decided to get everything done that same day.

That decision altered the course of my life.

I’ll never forget the moment the MRI technician helped me off the table and casually said, “Did you know you have something in your head?”

Later that evening, I found myself at my nephew’s first birthday party, holding back tears and wondering, “What on earth is this peach-sized growth in my brain?”

I was just shy of 30, a young wife and mother with two little ones under the age of three. Two months later, I underwent a biopsy and received the diagnosis: a grade 2 oligodendroglioma, a “hibernating” tumor.

By Thanksgiving 2009, I was scheduled for surgery. I was terrified. My thoughts raced: “What kind of mother will I be after this? Will I still be able to care for my children? To speak to them? To be the wife and mother my family needs?”

My daughter had just turned three, and my son was barely a year old. The uncertainty was overwhelming.

But fast forward to today: I am deeply grateful to my brilliant neurosurgeon, Dr. Soults, and the life-saving MRI technology that continues to monitor me annually. I’m now a proud mother of four, and with the unwavering support of my husband, I launched my own business.

My mission is clear: to inspire others to live highly intentional lives and maximize their potential. Tomorrow is promised to no one, but today is ours to shape.

TAGGED WITH: brain tumor, Oligodendroglioma

Opinions expressed within this story belong solely to the author and do not reflect the views or opinions of the National Brain Tumor Society.