Hello all. My name is Jacob, im 29 years old. On August 26, 2020, i was diagnosed with a 4.2cm Vestibular Schwannoma tumor on the left side of my brain. Due to the size and the location of the tumor- i had surgery to remove it in October 2020 at Duke University Hospital in Durham, NC..however they had to leave a small residual piece in hopes to avoid paralyzing the left side of my face or causing harm to my brain stem. The chances of the piece growing or causing further harm were very very slim. While it took months to recover from this- i came out a stronger person, and looked for ways to live life to the fullest as it put things into perspective for me that life should be lived like there is no tomorrow..

Fast Forward to September 2021, i returned to the Oncologist to have my first annual MRI, to check the healing progress and to check the residual tumor.. and the news i had was shocking. The odds were against me, and the tumor had grown slightly over the past year- BUT, there is a silver lining- due to it being smaller now, and the time passed with the tissue healed around it- i wouldnt need surgery this time, rather just 5 weeks of radiation therapy.

The radiation has taken some toll on my body physically, causing high levels of fatigue and some slight headaches which has caused my time away from work to be more than expected.. But even with my FMLA protection- Since i was only allowed 3 hours a day for treatment and only two days out the week that i could have a full day off- i failed to meet the requirements for Short Term Disability pay with my company.. which now has me missing relatively 20+ hours of work a week…and creating a deficit in my finances for rent/housing, utilities, and a vehicle loan taken shortly before my annual followup, as well as the cost to meet my insurance deductible of $3000.

Any help provided is greatly appreciated. <3