Month: September 2017

I had a brain tumor removed on September 20, 2010. Every year on this date I try to remember going into the surgery and the recovery but it’s a blur. What I do remember clearly is fear. What is this mass in my brain? Am I going to live? Will my kids remember me? Not questions I asked or admitted I was asking myself, but they hovered like the medical staff getting ready to cut me open.

In a way, epilepsy saved me. When doctors searched for the “why,” they finally found the tumor. Today, while epilepsy continues to chase me, I have answers to those questions. It was a fibrillary astrocytoma and I lived. My kids not only remember me, I figured out how to be a single mom of two through it all.

This week, I have the annual MRI to make sure the tumor didn’t grow legs. Back in 2010, I was warned there was a good chance of recurrence. And, if it came back, there’s a fatally rate of 90% in the first 10 years. “But don’t worry,” the surgeon said, “the tumor is so rare … not to mention in a young, healthy woman.” I am getting ready to throw a serious party in 2020.

I recently become the poster child for the “you never know” element of epilepsy, having a seizure during my Saturday morning run. It happened at mile 19.5 out of 20 during athletic rush hour on the running path. I only remember thinking, “I’m almost done! I’m killing this!” then wondering why I was walking. Based on my history, running doesn’t cause seizures, but it doesn’t stop them either. Adrenaline seems to, though, so the plan is to race faster than ever.

I am committed to sharing these experiences for those who suffer but cannot speak, learn, play, write, work… or run. Please support the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago as we get ready to run 26.2 on October 8th. Click here to donate and learn more.

 

In three weeks, I’m running the Chicago Marathon again for the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago. Please help by donating whatever you can today. 10 dollars makes a huge difference!

Please CLICK HERE to donate

3.4 million people suffer from epilepsy in the U.S. alone, including a half million children, and the number is increasing. One third of those diagnosed, myself included, do not have a medication or treatment that works. We are forced to manage a life where consciousness is a gift. The Epilepsy Foundation steps in, every time, when that is lost.

Epilepsy impacts more people than autism spectrum disorder, Cerebral Palsy, MS and Parkinson’s Disease combined. It’s hard to understand because it is often invisible. I talk about epilepsy to make it more visible. And I run for the cause because I still can.

I also run for Madeleine who loves to run cross country for Sandburg Middle School.

And Ethan who only loves to run with a football. 

Epilepsy has been after me for 10 years. It manages to win a lot of battles but I will not let it win the war. Distance runners will often say “it’s all mental,” to get through 26.2 miles. I couldn’t agree more.

In order to train, running several times a week, I have friends who drive to my house at 5:30am. I can’t drive and I can’t run alone, so Nancy, Jen, and Rachael show up at my door. My parents and John also follow on a bike, sometimes even in a car, just in case my brain misfires and I need a few minutes to remember where I am. Who I am.

Then there are my friends with the Elmhurst Running Club. We follow a training routine that includes long runs on Saturday mornings. With three weeks to go, we are headed for another 20 miler tomorrow at 6am. The ERC allows me to feel like I am part of something I don’t have to be afraid of losing. This group has helped me through a few seizures, too. Never judging, though, and never leaving me behind.

I need and appreciate every prayer and every donation. Thank you and wish me luck on October 8th!