Staci Pinkett’s Brain Surgery and Radiation

In early 2018, my mom started complaining about her eyesight becoming blurry and later began experiencing excruciating migraines. It had been a few years since she’d gotten new glasses so we assumed she needed a new prescription. She’s had a history of migraines so we didn’t think anything of it until the intensity kept increasing. She scheduled a doctor’s appointment but they could not deduce what was causing her symptoms. In April she fell while walking. She had fallen in the past and hurt herself but we thought maybe she was getting dizzy from her heart problems or diabetes. In the meantime, she got her eyes checked and new glasses, but she was still having problems with her left eye. She thought the prescription was wrong but it was double checked and she had another eye exam. She wasn’t sure what was going on so she went to her cardiologist who suggested she see a neurologist. The neurologist ordered a brain MRI. That’s when they discovered a tumor the size of a golf ball, which was pressing on her optic nerves causing her to go blind in her left eye. Her neurologist proceeded to find a neurosurgeon, but none of the local doctors would even agree to see her once they saw the MRI and her medical history. Her neurologist then sent her case to different neurosurgeons in California, Arizona, Utah and Washington State. A neurosurgeon in Utah agreed to a consultation visit. On August 1st, she and I went for the consultation visit in Utah and we didn’t go home until August 30th. Her condition was so bad that they admitted her the same day. By this point she had lost almost all of her vision in her left eye. She had to see their neuro-ophthalmologist for testing prior to surgery. During surgery they were unable to remove all of the tumor because it was also on her carotid artery. Over the last couple of years, she’s had to do regular MRI’s to keep a check on the tumor size. Unfortunately, her latest MRI showed the tumor had grown more and was again starting to press on her optic nerve. She now needs to have a second brain surgery and radiation therapy. She has multiple pre-op and post-op appointments and we are not sure how long she will need radiation therapy, which will not start for several weeks after surgery and recovery. This Go Fund Me is to cover her immediate travel, transportation, lodging and meals. Hopefully, she can also build up enough to cover her future follow up appointments with the neurosurgeon and neuro-ophthalmologist and any other treatments that may be needed as well since this is a lifelong illness. Pre-Covid her health insurance covered most of these expenses, however, now they don’t.  She will initially need to cover expenses for multiple months while in Utah. Please help us get her the surgery and care that she needs so she can get better and be with us for many more years to come. Thank you and we appreciate anything you can give.