April 24th 2012:

So during my daughters birth. I became paralyzed. I was rushed to a c section and had to get my epidural pulled out and a shot in my lower back. She was born healthy but the docs were dumbfounded as to what had happened. After two days of testing they found it. An extremely LARGE never seen by any doctor before lipoma. It measured c3-t6. They all was stunned and could barely explain it to me. I was told it was about to explode my spinal cord/canal. And i need star surgery or i will die. He gave me a week to say my good byes.

Morning of surgery came. I handed off my newborn to my mom. And said my goodbyes. Hoping its not forever. Next thing i remember is awakening 10 hours later unable to move and felt taped to the bed and angry. I Verbally attacked everyone. However. I was still paralyzed. I had to fight for my life while raising a newborn as a single mother.

December 20th 2012. I can walk again. I decided to surprise my dad. If i was downstairs he was as well. Well this time my mom asked for help. I put the walker infront of me and got up. And walked to the kitchen with my baby steps. He SCREAMED. “ wtf! You can walk?! Since when”. Well Merry Christmas dad lol

As months went by. I became more and more independent. Learning everything over again. However as those days came. My neck and thoracic spine curved. To the point i was unable to breath.

Oct 2013:

Im now laying in preop awaiting a 14 hour spinal fusion. Which could also kill or paralyze me. Thankfully it went smooth. Newly fused T3-T11.

2 weeks past. And i am released from the hospital at home. And thats when ALL the pain hits me. It was truly worse than labor itself. But as the years pass the better i felt.

2016:

I was just sitting down and this immense severe amount of pain hit me and i collapsed to the floor. In a fetal position crying gasping for air. My daughter is panicking calling for my dad while crying scared.

It felt like someone grabbed my spinal cord pulled it out and just started squeezing it.

I rush to find the best neurosurgeon i could thats not military and i did. He saw all my imaging and requested new ones. He looked at me in shock as if i lied about my first back operation. He told my my lipoma look un-operated on. He said we need to do surgery and asap.

AUG 31 2017.

Im in preop for my third time. Numb. Fully numb. Not scared. No worried. Nothing. Just numb and waiting.

20 hours later. Im awake. Intubated. Crying. Strapped to the bed. All i remember is two months of inpatient rehabilitation. I was paralyzed again. I was quadriplegic. I was for a few weeks this time thankfully. But. I had to learn everything again.

I continued to go back to work January 2018. But this time im TUMOR FREE. The pain and mental distress is still here.

My want to live is gone. But the fight is not.