I am an only child, but with great parents. I also read, write poetry, and scrapbook. I am a bit of a loner, if you will. I am a Christian, (even though strayed at times), too. I like the peacefulness and serenity of it all. I also have an AS in Business Management and Paralegal Studies, and am looking into Web Design now along with my other pursuits.

Read more below to find out about me…This is my testimony…

I was attempting to carry drinks up the stairs. Near the top and off-balance, I began to fall backwards. I caught myself, drinks in tow, although I slammed my foot against the wall. Still dumbfounded as to how it happened, I broke my toe plus ripped my nail off. The preceding is only one example of how my life simultaneously changed when I was diagnosed in 2008 with a brain tumor, in addition to a genetic life-threatening illness.

As a result of several accidents and being misdiagnosed, I was informed (two days before my brain op) that I had a genetic disease. “I looked over your test results and have determined that you have a disease known as Von-Hippel Lindau Syndrome,” robotically stated the neurosurgeon. “You also have a brain tumor with an aneurysm inside of it. I have you scheduled for surgery to remove it on Friday morning.” Then he walked out of the room. I was speechless, even baffled, at the insensitive way the most devastating news I would perhaps ever receive was delivered to me. Not only was I walled, but this was the beginning of my roller-coaster ride. Seven months after my brain op, two tumors were removed from my left kidney. Two months following that, more tumors were taken out of my other kidney. Presently, I have another brain tumor, a thyroid cyst, a pancreatic tumor and cysts, a cyst on my spleen, multiple kidney tumors and cysts, and several ovarian cysts. Last November, I also found out that I have kidney disease.

I accept this disease as my omnipresent fate. It is my destiny, my life, and the purpose that God has handed me. However, this was not the case in the beginning. I was depressed and it practically began as soon as I woke up from my brain surgery. During that time, I felt like a newborn, so I threw myself a pity-party. I felt hurt, angry, frustrated - lifeless like a prose. I was perplexed that this was happening. My life had been chaotically been turned upside down. Incidentally, I wondered if I had done something to deserve this. In fact, I even questioned my faith.

I thought life as I knew it was over. After all, I had two college degrees, was involved in a few social activities, jogged each day, plus took martial arts. I was an inhabitant of security. But I had a stroke during surgery, and was paralyzed. I could not walk, feed myself, speak clearly, or do any common tasks like dressing myself. I had also difficulty grasping objects. I felt like I was drowning. Following the therapy that I received in the hospital, I partially began to walk with the help of a walker. I required assistance for a while. However, after four months, I literally threw my walker away. After five, I ended my therapy. Once I overcame the largest part of my mobility issues, my confidence dramatically improved plus my independence increased. I realized that there were worse situations. Thus I learned to aspire to waste not and want less. This realization smacked like a two-by-four.

Then I started to worry about the consequences of living with VHL. I figured out that I if I were going to live with this disease for the rest of my life, I needed to educate myself. I learned a few things about VHL in the process. Foremost, I learned that it is a question without an answer, and an answer without a question. Within that, I learned all of the complexities that consist (or comprise) within the disease. It affects the brain, kidneys, eyes, spine, pancreas, and other organs sometimes. Tumors affect these areas where blood flow is richest. Then I learned that there is not a cure. According to the NIH, it will be in the year 2020. I also discovered that it is also a rare disease, affecting one in 32, 000 people worldwide. In other words, having VHL is like protecting yourself from the enemy by sleeping with one eye open, so to speak.

Therefore, I did a few things to safeguard myself. I contacted both the VHL Family Alliance and National Institutes of Health. I also registered with the NDRI. I also joined an online support group. At any rate, I was focused. And I still am - because this is my story, my testimony, my life.

Have you ever read Alice in Wonderland? There is a scenario in which Alice comes to a fork in the road and asks the Cheshire Cat which way she should go. The Cheshire Cat asks Alice where she wants to go. Alice replied that she did not know, and the Cheshire Cat told her that if she did not know where she wanted to end up, it did not matter which way she went. The same principle is embodied in the concept, “Begin with the end in mind.” You must know where you want to end up to make choices that will help you get there.

No where is this more true than life itself. A crisis such as this is practically the same: with a word spoken … an event in life … a simple thought … Yes, I had a brain tumor - hence post hoc the migraines, severe nausea, sensitivity to light and sound, complete vertigo, and unbearable eyestrain. I simply had a brain tumor and it was anything but imaginary. I wish it were a dream, but was truly real. In times of my own journey I have learned not to dwell on the things you used to have, should have had, do not have, or cannot do. And the true journey of discovery consists not in finding new landscapes, but in having new eyes.