Hi everyone! I have a personal and long story so if you stay till the end, thank you, I appreciate you. Also, a hugeeeee shoutout to our family and friends who have been our pillars of strength this past little while, since we’ve really been going through it. There are not enough words to express our gratitude and Money and I often find ourselves humbled by the endless love, support, and kindness we’ve received from our family and friends.

After having Sevaiya, I quickly realized I was experiencing excruciating back and leg pain. When I mentioned this to the doctors, they initially attributed it to having just given birth and suspected sciatica. However, the pain worsened, and on May 31st, Money and I went to the emerg at SMH due to strange tingling sensations in my lower body. I was admitted almost immediately and scheduled for an MRI. At this point the doctor said he believed for this to be disc issues but wanted to do the MRI to rule out anything else. (Also a huge shoutout to my GP who was on this issue immediately after I gave birth and sent me with a note to take to Surrey emerg. I cannot express enough how grateful I am to have a young doctor who listens and never ever rushes me out of her office).

About 5-6 hours after the MRI, a doctor came to discuss the results and told me there was a mass on my L2, which they believed was likely cancer. This obviously freaked the living heck out of us, but luckily I had the amazing support of my family and friends who we were able to lean on during this very emotional time in our lives. So many big words were thrown out and a lot of it was beyond me because my background is not medical at all, but I’m so lucky to know and be loved by people who are fluent in the medical field. Words like plasmacytoma kept me up at night but I had the reassurance from so many people around me to wait for test results, stay positive and leave it to god. I remained off the internet, spent a lot of time in the sun or by the water, and just waited.

I remained in the hospital until June 6th, undergoing multiple tests and after being discharged, my case was transferred to VGH, where I learned my treatment would continue at the Blusson Spinal Cord Clinic. My journey to uncover the nature of this mass began with my phenomenal doctor and also my rocks Money and Laddi. The amount of phone calls and random text messages I would send was insane but I needed to be grounded and having someone like Laddi who is so close to me and is also highly educated in the medical field helped me in the day to day struggles around potentially having cancer and to really dumb things down.

After an inconclusive biopsy at SMH, I had another biopsy at VGH. Finally, on July 6th, I received a call from my family doctor with the news: I had a benign tumor, a hemangioma. After spending over a month thinking I had cancer, this was the best day of my life (besides having Sevaiya)! Money and I stood in our family room jumping for joy as we quickly called our family and friends to share this news. A scene very similar to the day we found out we were pregnant. We sobbed and hugged as I called everyone who was constantly checking in, sending me fulfilling messages, making sure my cup was always full and filling my vases with flowers. I realized I am not only one of the luckiest people in the world but also truly loved.

The relief of it being benign was immense, but the tumor remained and it was pressing on my nerves and affecting both legs. This was making everyday tasks like walking challenging. The treatment plan to fix this was surgery to remove the tumor and it was scheduled for September.

After my surgery on September 9th, I am still in recovery. However, I know that many others may be facing similar situations, and there isn’t enough research on spinal tumors. That's why, for my birthday month of October, I am raising funds for the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation, who is the leading charity investing in health care innovation in BC. Interestingly, throughout the process of everything, I learned that an invasive surgery was my best bet in resolving my issue, which means we need a lot more research to have innovative ways to resolve such issues that aren’t so invasive. I will be collecting donations through my GoFundMe and will donate all funds raised at the end of this month. Any contribution is appreciated and will help advance research to support others who may find themselves in similar situations.

Also, remember to be extra kind and gentle to people. We don’t even know 1% of what people are going through. Stay true to the 10 second rule I teach my 10 year old students. If someone can change something about themselves in 10 seconds, mention it. If not, let it go and let it be. I remember feeling so helpless at people mentioning how much weight I had gained or how my face was unrecognizable at first glance, but the true reality was that being on steroids is no fun and the side effects are not something to openly discuss in social settings. If you are genuinely concerned, check in privately.

Thank you & be well.

-Nina Sandhu Dhaliwal