On Thanksgiving in 2006, what were you doing? Eating turkey? Fighting over the last piece of cranberry sauce? Or maybe helping those less fortunate in a shelter?
I was in the hospital. 13 years old, being poked by needles and squeezed by electric blood pressure machines. This wasn’t my first hospital visit, but it was my first inpatient visit.
“A pituitary tumor,” the nurse told us the night before. My dad and I were sitting in the waiting room playing a Mario Cart game. I just started to cry.
The last time I remember crying that hard was when I read “Death Be Not Proud” by John J. Gunther. For those who have never read it, it was about the struggle of Johnny Gunther and his brain tumor. He died at age 17. (I am 16).
For the next two and half years I was in MRI, CT-Scan, blood work, and doctor visit heaven. I even made a little song a couple weeks ago about it! It goes like this:
“48 blood tests, 18 MRI's, 9 great doctors, 6 ICU days, 5 CT scans, 3 hospitalizations, 2 surgeries, and a partridge in pear tree!”
If you stress the 6 ICU days when singing, it sounds better! Well the six Intensive Care Unit days should be explained to make more sense.
On June 17, 2009 (a bright sunny Wednesday), I went in for my Transsphenoidal (through the nose) Tumor Removal. After six hours, they took out 90% of the tumor. Claps for my neurosurgeon (Dr. Harter at NYU) and ENT specialist (Dr. Lebowitz at NYU). Boos for the constant headaches called insurance battles.
But every cloud that has a silver lining has a storm brewing on the inside. We went to my endocrinologist for my post-operation chat. He handed us the pathology report. And I was thrown the biggest curve ball of my live (thus far).
The tumor was not benign as we had thought. It was actually a teenage mutant ninja turtle! Just kidding, it was only mutant. So now, 2 months from the beginning of my junior year of high school, I am a cancer patient. No longer is it a pituitary adenoma, but a pituitary CARCINOMA. Hurrah.
Now that I have cancer, radiation is the next step. Sure, no problem. That starts this Monday, September 28, 2009.
But I should inform you of the other parts of my life.
I started my own eco-friendly, chemical free, color cosmetic company called Purus Cosmetics, thanks to the support of NFTE NY Metro and Prep for Prep. Without either of them I could not be where I am today.
I am from a program called Prep for Prep which helps New York City public school students get into private day or boarding schools. They also have a great support system to help us get through anything.
But aside from that, I have my family.
Divorced parents, half-brother I just met (who rocks) and some crazy problems as you might imagine happening. I usually do not talk about it, but sometimes I want to scream in someone’s head so they realize how much they are negatively affecting my life.
But I am the type of person who does not want to make other people unhappy or disappointed. However, with my two surgeries and this whole cancer experience, I now express my opinion and quirkiness where ever I go.
The reason is: You and I never know when we are going to leave this life. So what is the point of having secrets, being deceitful and encouraging drama?
With all of that under my belt, and always trying to be positive, I hope you can be grateful for everything in your life and live life to its fullest.
Don’t defer your dreams, no matter what happens.