The Time When I Had a Brain Tumor

Hello Fellow Steemians. Before I start sharing my adventures with you, I thought I might share something a little interesting about myself. When I was 14 months old I had a brain tumour removed from my right temporal lobe.

Me before going into surgery.

It all started when I was two months old. I began having petite mal seizures, often described as ‘staring episodes’. Not only was I having these regularly (up to four times a day), I was also vomiting and sleeping unusual amounts of time. At the time, I was diagnosed with epilepsy and was immediately put on drugs to help control the seizures. However, the drugs were not working and the seizures kept occurring for longer periods of time and more regularly. My poor mother at only 21 years of age must have been scared.

My mother and I before my operation.

Then at 14 months of age, I had a grand mal (convulsing) fit for 90 minutes! I was then shipped off by ambulance to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane, where I was hooked up to an IV and given a cocktail of drugs to help control the fitting. After many tests, they had discovered what is called a grade 2 astrocytoma (a large abnormal mass of astrocyes, a type of cell which is found in the central nervous system) on my right temporal lobe (the front right part of my brain).

The tumour extended through to my right carotid artery (one of the two main arteries that goes up the neck and supplies oxygenated blood to the brain); and right optic nerve. After the removal of the abnormal mass, a portion of my second and third nerves were left exposed, however still intact. As I was young, my brain was still rapidly developing, therefore my recovery was excellent (although I did have left sided weakness for a few days due to the nerve exposure). I am lucky to say that I don’t have many permanent effects as I would have if it occurred later in life as the brain adapts much better in the younger years.

Me not long after the operation.

So, what side effects do I still have today? If you read my first post, you will notice photos of me where I can leave one eye straight and the other turned in. I can make this happen due to the muscle weakness in my right eye. Sometimes I find this harder to control if I am tired or really excited. In saying this, I am also blind in my right eye. But you’d never be able to tell as I can do pretty much anything that people with vision in both eyes can (except jobs that require 20/20 vision). As I explained before, two of my nerves and part of my carotid artery were left exposed and on occasion (maybe twice a year), I can get extreme migraines down the right side of my face (shooting pain caused by the nerves). This usually only happens when I am stressed or get hit on the head.

I do believe that I am very lucky, as the tumor has not returned (I usually get a scan every 5 years). Below I have included some of my hospital notes/letters for those with a bit more medical knowledge can gain more insight into my condition. But if you have any questions feel free to ask, my medical knowledge isn’t too shabby, although I am no doctor. 😊