From Meningioma to Healthy-Eating Mentor

In 2009, without fear or hesitation, I willingly went under anesthesia to have my skull sawed open to have the meningioma brain tumor and bleeding AVM removed, which were causing me to suffer in excruciating pain for days. Brain surgery was my only option.

All of this hit when my world was already like a haphazard construction site after an emotional earthquake. My loving mother and sole-remaining parent, who had an enormous presence in my life, died the year before. The messy debris of my shattered heart and soul couldn’t fill the crater-sized hole her loss left. And as I was still grieving and sifting through the rubble to rebuild without her, came this knockout news that I had foreign invaders in my head just 503 days in.

As I recovered at home, everything about life felt and looked different: my skull, skin, perspective, head compression, future, and, essentially, my world. I couldn’t write, think, walk straight, or do much beyond nursing a persistent but less severe headache, which took six long months. Grateful for any physical abilities and my life as a whole at that point, I remained calm and patient, allowing healing and life to unfold gradually. How I mustered up that patience still bewilders me. 

I recognized the magnitude of the surgery I endured and began to see my personal human experiences as more precious and meaningful. Consequently, I turned off my internal automatic decision-making process. Certain choices, which were once routine and maybe not-so-great, now became thought-out and deliberate. I developed a strong desire to move towards making healthier options all around. This included relationships, lifestyle habits, and food.

It’s been 14 wonderful years of constantly learning, refining good habits through practice, and searching for more ways to enhance and improve life (not just mine) along the way. My personal rebuild resulted from the love and support of my incredible husband, Dan, family, and friends; evidence-based nutrition information from doctors; whole, fresh, plant-based ingredients that make up tasty meals; and a daily dose of exercise. Grabbing the calamity that happened on this day as an opportunity to reset my life was a “no-brainer.”

Looking back, I’m overjoyed to have experienced the awful events of this day in 2009, for it has served as a major catalyst for positive change in my life. It has informed my journey of happiness, health, and longevity. And I’m going to keep it going.

TAGGED WITH: meningioma

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