My name is Angelisa and on December 20, 2024 I found out that I will be needing brain surgery on February 03, 2025.

I recently learned that I have a symptomatic benign mass surrounding my pineal gland in the center of my brain.

Over the past 14 years, I have been dealing with debilitating symptoms, from mini strokes, to fainting, to insomnia and many other issues. These symptoms began while serving in the Navy, which led me to being released from duty.

I was told many times that it was all in my head, categorizing it as mental health conditions and tests that led to no answers.

Over the years, as I've learned more and did my own research, I began to realize that I was being gaslit by the medical system.

In 2023, I decided to go to nursing school, ultimately graduating with my LPN as well as RN. While in nursing school, I was empowered to advocate for myself when visiting specialty physicians such as cardiology, neurology, endocrinology, and so on.

This led me to ask questions at these appointments as well as reading into and understanding my conditions better.

It is also then, that I found out that I have had this symptomatic mass since 2018 and was never informed about it.

Upon questioning my neurologist in regards to it after a brain MRI, I was swiftly told that I can choose a neurosurgeon and follow up from there.

There are only a few neurosurgeons in the United States who specialize in this type of surgery, so I decided upon a doctor out of The Medical University of South Carolina.

I am not usually one to ask for help due to pride, but I feel as though this was beyond me, especially since I have two sons to care for.

Anything will help, as I will not be working for a few months while recovering. I thought I was going to be able to do this without asking, but after going to my initial appointment the week prior to Christmas, I knew it wouldn't be realistic or fully possible. I will be needing to make more trips to South Carolina for follow up appointments, along with taking childcare into consideration while recovering.

To those who read this, thank you for reading this far, and for those who do choose to donate, I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.

Respectfully,

Angelisa