It was 2006, the summer before my freshman year. I was so excited I could hardly stand it! I was so glad to be out of middle school and finally be a high schooler!
That summer was a blast, I was enjoying it to the fullest! The only thing that slowed me down was once in a while I would have the worst headache. I didn't think anything of it, just thought that maybe I was dehydrated or had gotten to much sun the previous day.
School started the end of August, and it was everything I had expected. The only thing I didn't expect was these stupid headaches that I would get! I was getting a really bad one about every 5 days. They hurt so bad! They hurt bad enough that i quit the cross country team
(I had been doing workouts with them all summer, but my head would be pounding the whole time I did any physical activity.) I just shrugged them off, thinking that I working too hard or wasn't getting enough sleep or something like that. But towards the end of September I couldn't handle it any longer and I told my Mom. We went to the doctors and he said they were just migraines, he gave me some medicine that was suppose to help with the pain.
Well the meds didn't help at ALL. During the month of October I had a headache 23 out of the 31 days. These hurt bad enough that I would stay home from school. It was a really hard month in my life. A lot of people didn't believe me and thought I was just faking. It hurt me to think that people thought I was a liar.
That October my family decided to go to Fright Mares at Lagoon. While I was getting ready to go I noticed that when I smiled half of my face didn't move. I tried moving it, but it didn't work. That's as far as I got with that thought because we were running out the door to a fun day of roller-coasters! Through-out the day, when I was laughing or screaming on a ride, I could feel the one half of my face not smiling... it was the weirdest thing ever.
That Monday we went to the doctors to figure out why half of my face wasn't moving. I was told I had Bell's Palsy. Bell's palsy is a temporary form of facial paralysis. This happens when there's damage to the nerve that controls movement of the muscles in the face. The doctor wanted me to get a steroid shot to help it heal faster, but I was having none of that! I would let it heal on its own. That same day I noticed that I had a tremor in my hand.
I went to school for the next week, headache free! I was so excited. But over the weekend the headaches came back. I was missing so much school because of them... On November 6th I forced myself to go. I didn't want to miss any more, and it was the start of the Lady Grizz Basket Ball try-outs. I barely made it through the day, and the first day of try-outs!
The next day I wasn't so lucky. I had early morning seminar, which I learned nothing in, I couldn't concentrate on anything! Second hour was Earth Systems with Nelson. My head hurt so bad that I felt like I was going to puke. I was nauseated most of the time, sometimes puking. I had never puked at school before, but that day I did. I called my Mom and she took me home, thank-goodness.
That day
(Tuesday November 7) I was scheduled for an CAT/CT scan
. It took them FOREVER to get the results back, but they came 20 minutes later. I was then told I had a brain tumor and need to leave now to go to Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City.
We went home, made some phone calls, got packed, and were off. A neighbor who had heard the news took my 3 siblings into there home while we were gone. But before we left my Dad and Bishop Krogh gave me a Priesthood blessing. I remember a promise in that blessing. It said that I would 'be calm throughout the whole experience and that good would come from this trial'. I might not remember all of what was said but I remember the feeling. I remember feeling loved and cared for. I also remember not being worried.
The 2 hour drive to Salt Lake City felt like 5 hours. That was the longest night of my life, and it was just beginning. We arrived at Primary Children's Medical Center around 8 at night. We had already been scheduled for an appointment with a Neurologist. The Neurologist checked out a lot of stuff, lots of testing and lots of things were said that I had NO IDEA what they meant.
I was finally checked into a room around 12:30 at night. I was sick of people poking me, telling me to do this and go there. I was ready to relax have some time to myself and eat something, I was starving. Well I got one of the two things. I got time to myself but I wasn't allowed to eat anything. They didn't want me eating because they were pretty sure I was going to get surgery some time tomorrow.
In the morning, and boy was it early, it was back to being poked and talking to doctors. One of the many Neurologists came around and said that I was going to have surgery that day
(Wednesday November 8). I was also scheduled for an MRI.
At 9 a lady came to prep me for the MRI. She glued green life-saver looking things all over my head. She told me that they acted like a GPS so that the surgeons could compare the images for the MRI to my actual head.
With the MRI complete we had a lot more details. My tumor was in the back of my head, it was located by the Cerebellum and the Occipital Lobe of the brain. The Occipital Lobe processes what you see.
(So the saying 'I have eyes in the back of my head' is somewhat true). And the Cerebellum controls coordination, balance and a little bit of memory reflex motor acts. My tumor was also blocking where your brain fluid exits your head. This was causing Hydrocephalus.
(Hydrocephalus occurs when Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF)- which is clear, water-like fluid that surrounds and cushions the brain and spinal cord. It delivers nutrients to the brain and will then be absorbed into the blood stream- is unable to drain from the brain. It then pools causing painful headaches due to increased pressure on the head.) We also knew that it was 2-3 inches in diameter which is about the size of a baseball. (At this point in time I was also told that if we wouldn't have caught it now I could have died within the next 3 months. Scary!)
The Neurologist and Surgeon thought that surgery would be the best way, and that was to happen at 12 in the afternoon. Before the surgery they are required to tell you what could happen in the surgery. I
(14) was old enough that I was told. Up to that point I had not worried about anything.
(That's not actually true. Ha the thing I was worried about was having to shave my head, loose my hair, and have a nasty scar for everyone to see. Ha o goodness I was really worried about that!) I had been calm and had accepted everything I was told up to that point. But when they told me all of the bad things that could happen to me (
I could be paralyzed, loose my vision, or die are the three that I remember) I was then nervous. Very nervous. Right before they put me under I remembered a scripture I had read that Monday:
St. John 16:33: These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. The surgery was 6 hours long, I was under for 6.5 hours.
I spent that night in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
It was now Thursday, November 9. I was feeling better and standing up on my own power. I was ready to go back to a normal hospital room. But before I could they had to remove the IV in my Jugular Vein. And boy did that hurt!
(After surgery I had 5 IVs. After leaving it ICU I only had 3. One in my arm, hand/wrist, and my ankle.)Over the next few days I did lots of healing and I received many many phone calls of worried Leaders, Teachers, and friends. One of my favorite phone calls was from my friend who I had grown up with. He had heard my worry about shaving my head and he told me that if I lost my hair, he was going to shave his too! I loved it!
(I am glad to say that I did not have to shave my head! I had small bald spots where they placed the live-saver GPS things, but those were covered by hair. The surgeon did a wonderful job with the incision. it is in a place that you would never see unless you parted it just in the right place. The picture below was taken about two weeks after surgery.) Throughout this whole ordeal I came to realize how many people care about me! I hated getting this much attention, but the love that was shown to me was what really got me through!
Sunday, November 12, I was feeling pretty good. At Primary Children's Medical Center they have a half hour Sacrament meeting. It was such a blessing to be able to go and do that. Around 3 I had the okay to go home! I got home around 4:30 and it was wonderful to be back.
On arriving home I had many visitors and phone calls checking on me, wondering how I was doing. I had to clarify for many people the true story. There were some crazy stories going around, how I was life-flighted down there because I got into a car accident, how I was throwing-up blood, how I have to relearn how to do everything... ha they were very creative on what happened.
I hated going through this. I hated being given this trial. But there are so many miracles and testimony builders within this short period of time.
I know that fasting and prayer really works! I am living proof of that! I am SO blessed, of all of the things that could go wrong the only side effect from the tumor is that I am partially blind in my right eye. That is amazing to me! I know that my Heavenly Father knows me, personally. He knows what I am worried about, He knows what I want even before I ask, He knows what is best for me even if I don't agree. He sends people into my life that makes things bearable. I know that He loves me. I know that my Savior lives. I know He has felt every pain, ever affliction, every hard moment I go through. I know He is always there waiting to comfort me, all I have to do is ask. I know this is the true gospel and I am so thankful for it. I am thankful for the knowledge it gives me! I am thankful for this opportunity to come to earth and to go through hard things. I know that everything happens for a reason, I might never find out why this happened to me at that point in my life but I can now say, 4 years later, I am thankful it did!
My grandpa carving the turkey
Making the dinner!
One of the 3 tables all decorated for dinner! I think Dianne Kristin and I did a WONDERFUL job :)
the girl cousins doing hair and make-up after dinner
haha AH i let them do my hair and make-up! boy was that fun :)
Time to break-out the pies..
...and the dessert!
if you fall asleep on Thanksgiving expect to be woken up by getting whip cream put on your nose :) (you can see my BEAUTIFUL hair and make-up in this picture)
As my Grandma would say "My oldest granddaughter and my youngest!" Paige is SUCH a cutie
we play LOTS of card games :)
