CAITIE TEO

Nine weeks ago, Caitie was sitting with her fiancé and a broker, discussing buying their first home. Two days later, Caitie was in her doctor’s office, being told she had a brain tumor.

Caitie had a rare congenital brain tumor surgically removed when she was 10. The operation was a success allowing her to become the beautiful, happy, young woman we know and love. Slowly as time passed, headaches, migraines, problems with eating and drinking, anxiety and fatigue, increasingly plagued her. Regardless, she did not give up, attaining her diploma and then her Bachelor of Audiometry.

During this time all medical investigations came back ‘normal’… till now. This current diagnosis is not related to her childhood tumor.

In 2021, Caitie gave birth to Stevie, a beautiful little girl. Stevie was born two months premature due to complications affecting both mum and baby. Stevie was very sick for the first year of her life, which compelled Caitie to use her sick leave and annual leave.

Recently, Caitie’s symptoms have intensified, with short-term memory loss, weight loss and an intermittent speech stammer.

Caitie’s current tumor (suprasellar epidermoid cyst), rarely appears in the brain. Epidermoid cysts account for approximately 1-2% of all brain tumors, and of them, only 0.02% appear in the location of Caitie’s tumor.

The tumor is growing and interfering with chemical imbalances, regulation of bodily functions such as temperature, emotional responses, appetite, vision, and memory. If left untreated, it will be fatal. These tumors cannot be treated with radiation or chemotherapy.

Surgery is her only option.

The tumor cannot be completely removed as it is sitting against a major artery, partial removal is the only option and will result in regrowth. There is no easy or clear option for Caitie or her team of surgeons. Depending on the surgery, Caitie’s recovery will take anywhere between 2 to 6 months, pending complications.

Her small amount of sick leave accumulated in the last 12 months has been needed for recent medical and hospital appointments.

Regardless of her unimaginable diagnosis, Caitie is still working, though the stress of her situation and her symptoms have forced her to decrease her hours. To complicate matters, Caitie’s fiancé is FIFO, requiring him to be away from home often. He also has little leave available, and Caitie must operate as a single parent whilst he is away.

While Caitie hasn’t asked for assistance, we at ihear, would like to help and show we care in every way that we can.

The point of this GoFundMe page.

The purpose of ihear creating this page is to have a positive effect on the only thing that we can influence. As Caitie has no leave remaining, we would like to raise enough money to allow her to be at home and recover with minimal stress.

Our aim is to reach: $10,000.

A recent quote from Caitie:

Choose who you want to create memories with and take the time to create them. You never know when you might not have the opportunity to create the next one. Love the people you care about, and be present in each moment. It’s the present that allows for the creation of memories for the future.