<div>Its taken me a while to find the words to sum up what's been going on in my life lately ;
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<div>Back in January I started getting intense migraines - of course with my line of work I thought I was just dehydrated, exhausted, and wasn't eating enough.
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<div> Shortly after the migraines started, I began getting right side numbness and weakness along with involuntary movements on the right; thinking it was my Monster/energy drink addiction I tried to cut down. 
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<div>At 10am July 10th I met some coworkers in St. Thomas for breakfast and had an episode of the right sided numbness. Only this time was worse. It turned into a full blown seizure. My one coworker was so quick and caught me as I was going down so I wouldn't hit my head. 
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<div>I don't remember waking up to the paramedics asking me personal question to which I didn't know the answers to at the time. 
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<div><strong>They transported me to my work where I got a head CT and showed a 2.3cm x 1.7 cm mass on my frontal left lobe with some fluid around it.</strong>
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<div>They started me on a strong steroid and an anti seizure med.
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<div> I got a repeat CT that show the swelling came down and there's no blood flow to the mass so it's less likely to be cancerous, but of course these are all based on photos on my brain, they'll know more when the samples are sent for testing. 
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<div>I was transported the next day to university hospital in London on the Neurology floor. 
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<div>Received an MRI and was discharged on July 13th with a follow up appointment on July 23. 
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<div>My vacation to BC on the 12th to visit my best friend I haven't seen in 7 months was cancelled because the doctors were worried about the air pressure and the swelling in my brain.
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<div>My Fiancé's trip was also cancelled at the same time so he can stay home to keep a close eye on me. 
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<div><em>My drivers license has been taken away, along with most of my independence.</em> 
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<div>Ivan, being the best Fiancé ever, planned a last minute getaway to our favorite place; Niagara.
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<div> We had a fun few days celebrating my birthday and just being us again after the ordeal we went through a few days before. 
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<div><strong>Fast forward to my follow up on July 23rd; the MRI showed it to be 7.3 cm by 3 cm, bigger than what we seen on the CT.</strong>
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<div>The tumor is effecting my speech, communication, decision making, emotion regulation, word finding, motor skills and more. The doctor said I would be awake during the surgery. 
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<div>It's hard to say what caused the tumor or how long it's been there without sending it off for testing; but my doctor said judging by the images it's been there for a while and is a slow growing tumor. 
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<div>my next follow up appointment is august 12th for pre admission. The doctor has explained that I will be on his priority list. Hopefully, the surgery will take place at some point in August. (1-2 weeks)
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<div>I'm still on anti seizure meds and a strong steroid for the swelling. 
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<div>Asking for help has been a difficult pill to swallow, but we're at a point of our journey where were at a dead end. 
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<div>With my fiancé off of work (without any government support or any news on whether the government will help) our bills and payments have been stacking more and more. 
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<div>Last year both of us bought new vehicles, not knowing that this would happen. 
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<div>We've tried figuring out if selling them back would be appropriate but we've only been paying the cars now for less then a year, if we were to sell them, there would be a lien on both of our cars and we would still be stuck with payments.
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<div> Without a vehicle we would not be able to get to appointments, our daughters family care, groceries, etc. 
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<div><em>On top of the vehicles, student loans, rent, groceries, and credit cards, our lives have been halted completely for growth and prosperity.</em>
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<div>Our jobs has been gracious enough to help us so much to this date but there's only so much someone can do for someone else, which we understand.
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<div>Our savings have been depleted, and we're at a point where there's nothing more left to do but wait to see what our next chapter holds.
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<div>We would like to thank everyone for the endless love and support we're receiving during this tough time
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Jake Lyons

Stacy Bialkowski

Anonymous

Andy Van Houwelingen

Eloe Gharib

Ashley Chaulk

Ashani Abeysinghe

Arielle Minor

Phil Andros

Lisa Frey

Jill Dombroski

Trevor Metcalfe

Gina Souliere

Sabrina Voakes

Melissa Tucker

Rodney Hill

Jessica Rowley

Malhica's Journey Fundraiser

Malhica's Journey Fundraiser

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