(This is my life...... written almost two years ago)

My 10th ANNIVERSARY -- June 25, 1996.....

Wow...it is hard to believe it has been  10 years...

 

June 25th, 1996... the day my life changed forever.....

 

I was living in .......Boston at the time. Working for the New England Patriots. It was my dream job, and I had almost  been there 2 years. I had finally gotten off that advertising rollercoaster .... of traveling  and waking up in a different city every day. I was finally settling in to a great life.....great house...great job.......great relationship (so I thought).

 

I was out joggin (yes I usta exercise)... when I got this weird tingling  feeling. It was hot out and I didnt think much of it... just thought it was the heat. I dont really remember anything after that...the next memory I have is waking up in the hospital. Apparently I had a seizure. The symptoms were there...I just chose to ignore them. When I would turn my head really fast..... my vision would go completely white. Loss of balance.... I just thought I was naturally clumsy.  And severe headaches

 

Anyway.. through many pokes and prods.... X-rays......CT Scans ......MRIs ......at 7:44pm that night....... I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. An Astrocytoma.....Grade 3 . The worst part of that day, was having to call my Mom and tell her. I was pretty much devestated. I walked around like a zombie for a few days. Thank god for my family, they stepped in and made decision for me, which I was incapable of making at the time. In 2 weeks time... I had quit my job...packed everything up.... was heading back to Georgia.

 

The diagnosis was pretty grim. With a Grade 3 Astro...survival rate is only @ 30%. With a lifetime of  problems. But I was a lucky  and blessed one........ so far no reoccurances.

 

It took ....2 operations.....123 raditation treatments..... and 3 major rounds of chemo....... over almost 3 years. But I'm still  here. First I had a round of radation (45 treatments) to shrink the tumor a bit. Then I had what was called a facial peel. Since my tumor was located right above my right eye.  They were able to cut along the inside of my gums...peel my face back and go through my nasal passages to remove it. Then they pulled everything back down in place ....and sewed my gums back together. I looked like someone had beat the crap outta me.

 

My blindness wasnt cause by the tumor itself..... it was caused from the side-effects of producing too much spinal fluid.  The fluid pressed on my optic nerve...... and killed some of the nerve endings. My second operation was a decompression of the right optic nerve. They took a 2 inch square piece of bone out of my eyesocket......popped my eyeball out and cut a sheath around the optic nerve to relieve the pressure. My production and absorption rate of spinal fluid...... is still screwed up... and will be the rest of my life, I can cointrol it with medications most of the time. But about once a year... I have to have  a spinal tap to relieve the pressure. Then I am good to go for about another year

 

Each year that goes by ...without a reoccurance of the tumor. ... the better my chances are that it wont come back. If anything.........it has taught me not to take life for granted. This is not exactly the way I planned my life...but these are the cards I was dealt....and I can live with it. I lost a lot ..10 years ago......and not just my sight  A future husband  and partner..... who couldnt deal with a damaged wife. The chance to ever have kids of my own. My dream job. And the thing that I hated to lose the most....my independence.

 

It wasnt all bad though.....I gained in other ways. My family is closer than ever....especially my Mom and I. I found out who my true friends were.. and I hold them dear to my heart. I stopped chasing that ring of success in business and figured out a way to get paid for what I truly love....playing with my horses.

 

10 years.....sometimes it seems like a lifetime ago....sometimes it seems like yesterday

 

Thanks for reading.....

Sissy (Sea-Era)

 

 

P.S. ---

June 25th, 2007......

Wooo hooo.......... it has now been 11 years...... and counting

 

June 25th, 2008 ........ and even dozen!!!!