The End of 2019 This marks the end of what was a long, painful, and grueling decade; full of betrayal, lies, and suffering. But, amongst all the confusion and hurt I sustained, or dished out, there came an exorbitant amount of humility, self-growth, inner-trials, and learning. I am happy to put this decade behind me; but most of all, I am thankful for every experience (the good and the bad) that I went through because it made me into the person you see standing before you to

Week 2 Post-Op In my first 2 weeks post-op I had seen many improvements in my health; I no longer had pressure headaches, my stroke-like symptoms on my right side had disappeared, and the vision in my right eye had returned. Yet, inside of me I was battling a mental war. A mental war surrounding the "why's" and "how's" of how all of this could be? Day 14 Post-Op It was my last visit to Dr. Kim's office, they were removing my stitches and providing me with my Pathology Report.

The first week post-op was the most horrifying for me. I had been eating (a little but not too much due to nausea), drinking, sleeping, peeing, but not pooping. I mean, who doesn't get a visit from the poop monster for 6 days? I couldn't fit anymore food in my gut without first ridding of some waste - my stomach was solid like a rock. "Here Lasha, take this, you're suppose to drink this lemon flavored drink if the stool softeners aren't working." Chris opened up a clear glass

"You're going to heal up wonderfully! The Doctor said that they got the whole tumor out; your PGCT was pushing against the left side of your brain, a lot. He also said, usually they have to spend so much time searching for the tumor but because your's was so large it was easy to locate and removing it was textbook. He expects a full neurological recovery, Lasha!" Chris was beaming ear to ear. This wonderful news was suddenly pushed out of my mind as great pain shot throughout

"Well, like, how large is your PGCT anyways? My friend has one and they don't need brain surgery." she snarled at me. "19mm" I responded. "Yeah, I guess that's pretty big! Theirs is only 6mm... that's probably why they aren't in as rough shape as you." She replied. Many people's attitude towards whether or not a person should have brain surgery seems to be based on the size of the tumor, and not their symptoms. This way of thinking is what causes so much discrimination in the

The debate of whether to get a mobility scooter or wheelchair when suffering from a PGCT, and/or Fibromyalgia, and/or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis has been a hot topic lately. I have been asked on several occasions, by multiple people, why I chose the wheelchair over a scooter, "a wheelchair is so much more disabling looking compared to a scooter" is just one example of some comments I receive. Statements like the above are not uncommon, and I understand why some may think a sco

It was 1:30 a.m. and I was still wide awake in bed listening to the thunder storm outside my bedroom window. I had been laying in bed all day, bedridden from my battle with chronic pain, and I had been trying to fall asleep for the evening (obviously with no success) since 10:30 p.m., "Dear God, take me now" I whined to myself. My husband was laying next to me sleeping soundly and snoring loudly. "I wish I could sleep", I continued to complain to myself. The feeling of despai

Globally, Pineal Gland Cysts/Tumors (hereafter referred to as "PGCT") are being brushed off by medical communities due to lack of research, funding, and education in place. This leaves many PGCT sufferers feeling isolated, misunderstood, anxious, and afraid of what lies a head for their lives. Medical communities are telling people with PGCTs that their PGCT is not considered a medical concern unless it is large enough to cause hydrocephalus, narrowing of the aqueduct, or if