Spread the awareness

in #life6 years ago

Medulloblastoma.jpg

I saved this image a little while ago and I found it while looking through some old memes that I saved. I had a 4cm medulloblastoma attached to my brain stem and cerebellum that was surgically removed and then blasted away by over 6000 cGy when I was only 13 years old. I was lucky that it happened when I was 13 instead of happening when I was 3. Otherwise, I wouldn't have survived the treatment and I likely wouldn't have survived with the tumor of that size at that age. I did see a lot of kids around that age group in the clinic when I was receiving treatment and it was heartbreaking. I wouldn't ever wish that upon anyone and I would recommend that you take your kids to the doctor if you see anything like these symptoms.

Before I was diagnosed, I was throwing up in the morning while feeling like I had an immense amount of pressure in the back of my head. While the pressure was gone after I threw up, the pressure would only start to build up as the day progressed and it would happen again the next morning. I went to many doctors several times, getting all sorts of tests, but never any scans. All they saw was a hormonal, overweight teenager who was just going through puberty. I can't emphasize this enough, but take a look at these symptoms and watch out for them. I said all of the time that I felt fine, but that wasn't the case. Brain cancer has a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it.

On a side note, I've been having a hard time paying bills for college and medical expenses. I would greatly appreciate any help that I can get. I mean, the copay for an MRI is 100 dollars for me and it adds up when you have to go every few months for a new scan.

I opened a gofundme page here: https://www.gofundme.com/ahte6-time-for-a-change&rcid=r01-153009981544-012c12a0b28c45e7&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_w