Beginning in April 2023, I fell while playing outside with my four energetic kids, aged 5 to 15.

This led to a series of painful headaches and vision loss. I went to the emergency room where I was told the cause was allergies. Over-the-counter allergy meds were advised.

Two clinics and two months later, the pain had worsened, and I knew I needed better answers. I visited 6 local clinics, all covered by my husband's employee medical insurance, but they left me with no answers or relief. So, I decided to seek help in Mexico where family physicians could help guide my treatment.

There, doctors found an adenoma, which is a tumor in the pituitary gland, and hyperostosis, or an enlargement of the frontal bone. Doctors in Mexico prescribed medication to shrink the tumor in the pituitary. But this treatment offered no relief from the pain. So I continued to seek answers both here in Houston and in Mexico. Three more trips to local health clinics, where doctors prescribed steroids and other pain relievers that offered no relief from the excruciating headaches.

In January of 2024, I visited a local cancer treatment hospital that agreed to treat me for the adenoma and begin a full battery of tests with the goal of finding answers to my pain and vision problems. In May of 2024, I was admitted, and they conducted a lumbar puncture to check the cerebrospinal fluid pressure to see if that was causing the headaches. That lumbar puncture caused paralysis. I walked into the hospital to treat headaches and ended up unable to walk for eight weeks. Additionally, the initial test revealed heart damage and granulomas in my lungs. But when the mistake caused paralysis, treatment of all other conditions, including the headaches, stopped to focus on getting me to walk again. This month in the hospital included multiple rehab sessions, acupuncture treatments, and massages and left me with a bill for over $120,000. Since my husband's employer-supplied health insurance did not approve the referrals made by the cancer center, I was considered a cash-pay patient. This balance due at the hospital means they won't continue to treat me for any of the diagnoses.

So back to Mexico I go, seeking relief for the pain and answers for all the new issues revealed by the tests at the cancer center: head, cerebrospinal fluid, lungs, and heart!

In October of 2024, doctors in Mexico found no issues with my heart and determined my lungs have nodules that should be monitored every 6 months for at least 2 years. They decided the answer to my headaches was in the build-up of cerebrospinal fluid, for which they prescribed a diuretic. Finally, I started to feel some relief from the pressure in my head. For a time, this treatment helped to relieve the intensity and frequency of the headaches.

But in April of 2025, multiple days of unbearable pain put me back in the ER where doctors conducted two MRIs and found possible meningiomas. This was a very scary revelation! I thought I had found the answers and was on my way to a full recovery. It's also scary because MRIs are incredibly expensive tests, and I am seeing my medical debt and questions about my health continue to pile up.

But I'm not giving up! My loving and incredibly supportive husband and I are in this fight to win. But like all moms, I must fight with one hand and protect my babies with the other. We haven't shared the news with them, and we don't plan to until we know more. We won't stop looking for answers anywhere we can find them. The local hospital has set an appointment for May, by which time a neurosurgeon will review my MRI results and offer a second opinion on the meningiomas. I also have to return to Mexico for a follow-up on the lung diagnosis and further testing for the vision loss.

Between now and then, I am focused on loving my family, being a mother to my kids, and doing everything I can to combat the mounting debt. My friend and I have started a company: Lemon Aid for Love. Because I not only want to help my family avoid crippling medical debt, but I also want to help others fighting the same battle. Thanks for standing with me in the fight.