The Benign Tumor That Changed My Life

In 2011, my ex-husband and I walked into a convenience store around lunchtime during a weekday in Gainesville, Florida, and my whole world was turned upside down.

As soon as I walked in with him holding the door for me, I noticed it seemed as if there was a fog machine somewhere with fog rising from the floor of the store, and out of nowhere, I felt a stabbing sensation at the top right of my head. I threw my hands up and began to scream “Help” for my then-husband. He immediately grabbed me up and carried me to UF SHANDS hospital right down the road. 

After several scans, a neurosurgeon came in, showing me how the bag of spinal fluid in the middle of my brain was almost completely full of a darkened mass with a small tip-of-a-pinky white dot holding up the mass from blocking the entrance to my spine. From there, I arranged to have brain surgery on June 28. Four shunts later, I’m on the brink of receiving a new shunt due to current problems. I’m alive, though, and I’ve gotten to see six grandchildren born, two children getting married, and one child graduating college. I wouldn’t change any of it for the world.

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