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| On May 12, 2003, I woke up and had a strange sensation in my right side. I also had a jabbing pain in my left ribs. On this Saturday morning I began the toughest journey in my life. I was stumbling and having great difficulty holding on to things such as drinks, forks, knifes etc. At the Mayflower that night I spilled my drink twice due to dropping it. I was distraught and refused to eat anymore at that meal. The culprit was a sudden burst of right-sided numbness that was produced by a lipoma in the sylvian fissure of my brain. A lipoma is a tumor consisting of fatty cells with calcium buildup blotched in the fray. The sylvian fissure is a folded crease in the brain. That Sunday I went to the Wake Forest Baptist Hospital Pediatric ER. There I was told about the tumor and my family's emotional roller-coaster began. We were told that brain-surgery might be nessecary, then told that it would not be useful. So then we went to Dr. Glazier and he seemed to agree with what his chief resident said and told us to wait six months. We did not wait. We went to Forsyth and talked to Dr. Bell, and he said that the surgery would take place. Confused on what to do we traveled to Duke Hospital and visited Dr. Fuchs. He agreed with Dr. Bell and we went to scheduling. The fact was soon identified that I would be shaving my head, and my best friend Christa White(Seymore) went with me and kept the mood lively the day before I went to surgery. Then we went to pre-op and told them about my latex alergy and set up to go. The next morning at six we traveled to Forsyth for the big day we had all been dreading. Inspired by an idea that I recieved in a card from Kathy Shutt, I took a pink pillow with"princess" engraved on it in purple letters. The IV's were placed into my arm and then I was rolled into the operating room for a two-hour surgery. As I was being strapped to the table I was asked if I could hear tham, but before I could respond I was thrown into a dreamless sleep. The nurse came out and told my family that the surgery was more complex than they thought and they would have to prolong the time I was in there. After six hours, I was through. I remember the first time I tried to walk, it was dreadful. No matter how many times I told my leg to move, it would not. But with great help from my family and friends, I have made a miraculous recovery. The greatest thing that happened to me in there was seeing my friends who had come optionally, to see me. I saw the face of Christ in their every smile, and I now am determined that my family members have a lot more patience than I do. I want to thank everyone for prayer, for cards, for thoughts, for smiles, for living here today. If it weren't for God, none of this would have happened. So more than any, Thank you God, for being there, and thank you for saving my life, because, I believe that if it weren't for you, right now I may be dead. You truly are an awesome God. | ||||||
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