Fighting Something I Never Thought Was Possible

Fighting Something I Never Thought Was Possible

Shonna

It was October of 2010 and I had my first race on the up coming Saturday. I had joined the cross country team for my high school and I felt more confident than ever because I was involved with something I loved doing. I had walked out of art class because I wasn’t feeling well and passed out on the stairs on my way to the nurses office. It hadn’t been too long since I was knocked out, so I got back up and continued my way but only more concerned. My mom picked me up from school and took me to the ER. They gave me CT scan and I was told I had a sinus infection. My mom didn’t buy it what so ever so she demanded an MRI.

As I was laying in my bed, doctors came in with a wheel chair and told me they were admitting me. I was sleepy and wanted to sleep but the nurses wouldn’t let me. Next thing I knew at least ten doctors walked into my room and explained I had a brain tumor and that I had to have it removed that following morning. They removed it through my left nostril. They sent me home two days after surgery and I realized something wasn’t right. My best friend Rachel was by my side and walked me out to the couch. I started throwing up and next thing I knew I couldn’t stay awake.

The ambulance took me back to the hospital and they said I was hours within dying. We found out that my surgeon had cut my brain and caused me to have a brain bleed. I ended up staying there for a good two weeks. Missing not only my first race, but Halloween as well. After those two weeks I returned home and felt better over the days. Then on December of 2012, I noticed my symptoms coming back. So on January of 2012, I had another MRI. we found out the tumor had come back and was dangerously close to my carotid artery. On February 11th, I had yet another brain surgery to remove my tumor. This time they had gone through my septum and fixed up some mistake my last surgeon had made. I went home about five or six days afterwards and healed very quickly. To this day as I know of, my brain tumor has yet to come back. But I’ve learned not to take life for granted because it can truly be taken at any moment.

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