Sara's Medical Journey

Hi, everyone. Those of you who know me already know that making this account absolutely KILLS ME. Michael and I hate asking for help. But, sometimes, life happens. August of 2016, I started having severe migraines and episodes where I would just randomly fall unconscious. After a MRI was done, a mass was found on my brain. After a year of medication changes, scans, and testing we have a plan and a general idea of what is wrong with me. The mass can be one of two things; A birth defect called Focal Cortical Dysplaysia. It can cause seizures, which is what they are calling my episodes. It just hasn't decided to show its ugly face until now. OR. It could be a low-grade tumor. After meeting with a surgeon in Pittsburgh last month, it has to come out regardless. I will be going to Pittsburgh the day after Thanksgiving, November 24th, for a 3-5 day stay in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit. They want to hook me up to an around the clock EEG and try and force me to have a seizure to see if the mass on my brain is directly related to the episodes. After this test, a surgery date will be set. That will be a whole other trip and a whole other expense with a lot more on the line. Brain surgery is a big deal, so I've heard. The biggest risk of this surgery is permanent speech damage. Hopefully, removing the mass won't do that, but it is a risk. Anyone who has ever had a medical problem knows how expensive and to be honest, inconvienient it is. Family houses still have fees, food, travel. And for us, we have to kennel some of our animals while we are away. Leaving both of our boys is punishment enough. With my condition, I have not been able to work. I know that money is tight this time of year for everyone, but if you can help us out, we will be forever grateful. My future is very foggy at the moment, and I just want to make sure my family is okay.