My story with cancer - Medulloblastoma

Everyone has a story to tell, this is mine. The year was 1987. I was 11, and starting the 6th grade. Exploration, independence, cliques, and social graces, were part of my everyday experience. I was a normal teen excited to start off my teenage years with a bang, but unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to go through. I was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor wrapped around my brain stem. My stay in the hospital was for the better part of 2 years, off and on. My treatment consisted of surgeries, shunt revisions, radiation, chemotherapy, and several traumatic moments. I lost my balance and had to re-learn walking. I lost my hair, and my body stopped producing the growth hormone in the process. But that didn’t stop me from coming back to school and rejoining my friends and classmates. Determined, I came back first in a wheelchair, then a walker, then a cane, and as the years went by, I was walking on my own. I took needles throughout school to make me grow taller and wore a wig to cover my bald head. Friends were a different story. I was really surprised. I remember thinking how I could always count on my buddies, and how they were going to be so excited to have me back, no matter what the outcome. I should have realized that things changed when I was hospitalized for the better part of 2 years. I was a pretty popular guy before the diagnosis, but after my return to school, I felt alone. I often spent my lunch hour in the school library. It wasn’t easy, and I don’t know how I got through it, but I did. I graduated high school, went on to graduate college, became a webmaster and developed my computer skills. Currently, I hold a job with the county that I reside in and live on my own with my dog Kingsley. I started my own website, ImSurvivor.com, an online social network for those that have been through distinctive situations as I have. The goal of the website is connecting people through commonality. I learned many life lessons through my experience and want to share them with others. That’s the drive and main reason I created ImSurvivor.com. By sharing our stories it may just help someone else. But my story doesn’t end here. In January of 2008, at the age of 31, and approximately 20 years after my first brain tumor was discovered, I was diagnosed with two brain masses (meningiomas). The large one was removed first and the second smaller one was taken out 4 months later. I couldn’t believe this catastrophic event was about to occur all over again. But amazingly enough, I kind of knew what to expect and realized my previous life skills would serve me well in my recovery. I even videotaped my progress on this website (in the video sec). As I write this, I'm happy to report that I'm back to work and my recovery is going better than expected. I AM A SURVIVOR!