Arachnoid/Pineal Cyst

Surgery date is coming up on May 10th. I will be traveling cross country only to find myself in brain surgery. It is quite difficult for me to recount the exact timing of my prognosis, but, with the help of my boyfriend documenting for me, we could recall that my first seizure had occurred around February of last year. I was upstairs in my mother’s house bathroom, when suddenly I experienced cramps all in my stomach.

Within three seconds time, I felt the blood leave my face and next thing I knew I had hit the floor. My mother called after me and I am sure within a minute’s timing she had been over me trying to awaken me. It was not until that following August that I had realized just how serious things were about to become. On the date of my birthday, August 13th in 2016 I had just retired from a beautiful day at Tybee Beach. I was in the process of slicing veggies for dinner when I again experienced a cramping sensation that literally took my breath away. My right shoulder began cramping up along my back and within three seconds I hit the floor. It felt like all of the oxygen in my brain had just been vacuumed out. All I could see was black then I distantly heard my boyfriend’s voice saying my name… I finally came to and quickly stood up. Shocked.

I had no idea what I would be told next. Both these instances I would later be able to attribute to what was originally diagnosed as a Pineal Cyst. Pineal Cysts are known to cause seizures, migraines, nausea, paranoia, fatigue, memory problems, and more. I was shocked to find this and even more when I found out there was no adequate surgery for my cyst in Georgia. I will have to travel out to Los Angeles, California to meet up with Dr. Shahinian. He will take out my cyst using the keyhole procedure, an endoscopic procedure going in behind the ear to minimize recovery time from 6 months the previously used craniotomy. I am very nervous, but very excited to see the results. Every other day I get sick in the morning (not pregnant, nor have I even been) and experience a bad headache plus irritability. I am constantly sweating uncontrollably.

Sometimes I get a kind “fog” in my head that I can not seem to shake that will make me feel like I am moving/thinking in slow motion. Always tired. Not to mention, after the three seizures I have had I am extremely hesitant in driving a motor vehicle. I day dream all the time about the possibilities. As I have described before there is very little time in between me knowing I am about to have an attack and actually hitting the floor. If I were driving I would most definitely lose control of the vehicle and after that who knows. This surgery is a must for me to begin to live normally again. I dropped out of my first semester of college upon diagnosis of my brain tumor. I hope to get this surgery and resume my college career in the Fall of this year.

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