Operation Brain Surgery: Help Gem Sparkle Again

Update 20/02/20: While Gem's had her amazingly successful surgery, we would hugely appreciate it if you could keep sharing the page to help us meet our goal! Thank you for all of the amazing contributions and support for Gem and her family <3 We are aiming to raise funds for our friend, Gem, to help cover the cost of much-needed brain surgery. No amount of help is too small! Gem is a compassionate, fun-loving and resilient individual. Her heart knows no limits and she is motivated and hardworking in all that she pursues. She especially loves animals (she has feathered and furry animals of her own), outdoor adventures (camping, hiking and snowboarding), footy and being a full-time student (where she’s completing her Master’s in Speech Pathology). The past few years have seen Gem become a shadow of her former self. She has experienced chronic headaches, severe fatigue, sleeplessness and memory issues since 2016. In January 2019, persistent nausea and vomiting started which has now caused a painful hiatus hernia to develop in her stomach. Blurry vision, leg weakness (sometimes they collapse from under her), dizziness, poor balance, and stabbing headaches are just some of the symptom that arise without warning. Sometimes, Gem's speech also becomes hard to understand. Multiple visits to different doctors, specialists and the ED left her disheartened as she was often dismissed and misdiagnosed (she was prescribed many different medications which didn’t resolve her symptoms). Throughout all this, Gem fought to remain actively engaged in clinical placements and coursework for her Masters. She showed true grit and determination in the face of her health challenges to complete all her course work at the end of 2019, and she hopes to complete her thesis this year, after her surgery. On December 29th 2019, Gem fell very ill, experiencing a sharp, stabbing headache with ongoing vomiting throughout the night. The next morning she caught a Taxi to see the next-available GP. Initially, Gem was told she had a migraine. A CT brain was ordered when Gem expressed further concerns about her symptoms. Over the next several days, Gem continued to vomit and suffer through the stabbing headache despite being on strong migraine medication and anti-nausea tablets. She lost 6kg during this time. Another GP ordered a MRI to get a better look at the mass that had been discovered in her brain with the CT scan. The likely-benign tumour was deemed "inoperable" and no referral was made to see a neurologist. The idea was that Gem would have to continue living with her symptoms and no-one would engage in a discussion about the long-term implications of her tumour. She was told to return in a year’s time for a follow-up MRI to see if further growth had occurred. Thankfully, Professor Charlie Teo and his team organised a consultation for Gem. He noted that the tumour is compressing the flow of cerebral fluid. Without surgery, symptoms will linger, likely get worse and may even cause death. Fast-forward to the present day and Gem’s surgery goes ahead on the 3rd of February 2020 in Sydney, under Prof. Teo’s expert hand. $90,000 will be paid upfront. This is all out-of-pocket as this surgery is not offered in the public system. Gem's tumour is deep in the brain where most neurosurgeons do not possess the expertise or will to operate. To remove the tumour, Prof. Teo's team will be passing alongside the brain's most critical veins. We are feeling confident about the outcome of the surgery because we have been able to get help from the best-of-the-best! While surgery is not without risk, it brings hope that quality of life can be regained. Gem enjoys the comradery and challenge of playing footy and can't wait to get back on the oval. One of her favourite pastimes is having a dance and going camping with close friends. Being an only child, Gem is also very close to her parents whom she loves to visit in New Zealand. She also desperately wants to complete her Master's in Speech Pathology so she can work with adults who've been affected by stroke, TBI and progressive neurological diseases like dementia. She believes that after this experience she will be able to bring new insights and patient-centeredness into her role as an effective clinician. Gem would like to take this opportunity to thank all her family and friends for their support: I’ve been overwhelmed by the genuine love, support and kindness that’s been offered in varying forms by those close to me and from complete strangers. For the first time in a long time, I am hopeful that I’ll get my life back and will get to be the best version of myself again. Thank you so much to everyone who’s helped me appreciate the silver-linings to come out of my experience. I consider myself to be very blessed. Please help us to share Gem’s story so that we can bring the sparkle back into her life!