A few weeks before my nineteenth birthday, I was sitting next to my mom when she noticed something strange — my left eye wasn’t lining up with my right one. It looked like I had a lazy eye.
The next day, after we laughed about it, my mom decided to make an appointment with a specialist called a neuro-ophthalmologist. We went to see him on a busy Saturday, and after checking my eyes, he said we should come back another day when he could run more tests.
Two weeks later, we went to his other office for more testing. He asked if I had been seeing double recently, and that’s when I realized I had. He explained that my problem, called sixth cranial nerve palsy, could be caused by an infection or, in rare cases, a brain tumor. He ordered a chest x-ray, blood tests, and an MRI of my head.
The chest x-ray and blood tests came back normal, but during the MRI, I had a strange feeling that something serious was going on. After the scan, my mom and I went to lunch feeling hopeful, then I went home to work on my online classes. A few hours later, my mom came into my room, upset, and handed me the phone.
It was my doctor. He told me that the MRI showed a mass in my brain pressing on my sixth cranial nerve. He said it might be a rare kind of bone cancer called chordoma, which grows at the base of the skull. Two days after my nineteenth birthday, I was officially diagnosed.
Since then, the diagnosis was confirmed, and I had surgery to remove the tumor. It was a tough process — I had complications like infections and leaks of brain fluid — but I made it through. Some of the tumor was left behind, so I had proton radiation therapy to remove the rest. In a few weeks, I’ll reach one year of partial remission. About ten months ago, I also had eye surgery to fix the eye that had turned inward after my first surgery.
Even though I’ve faced many challenges from the tumor and treatment — like nerve pain, Hashimoto’s disease, and thyroid problems — I’m thankful to have an amazing medical team supporting me.
I was a college freshman when I got diagnosed, and now I’m a junior studying psychology and music. I sing in my college’s choirs, act in theater, and take part in student activities. In the future, I hope to earn my Master’s in mental health counseling and work as a therapist for young people with disabilities, rare diseases, and cancer. I also want to perform professionally in my city’s orchestra and choir — and maybe one day audition for America’s Got Talent.
I’m truly grateful to the Lord for everything He has done for me.
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