Telisha's Survival Story
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There are moments that mark your life. There are moments when you realize nothing will ever be the same and time is divided into two parts, before this and after this. This moment for my sister, Telisha Mitchell, was on September 11, 2017.
In the middle of the night, Telisha was experiencing rapid heart palpitations and uncontrollable movements in her right leg. After an exhausting few weeks preparing her kids for back to school, Telisha assumed she was just tired and not feeling well. However, the pain just wouldn’t let up. As time passed into the wee hours of the night, Telisha thought she was experiencing symptoms of a heart attack and called 911 in a panic. With her three young children by her side, she made the trip in an ambulance to a local neighborhood hospital.
Walking into the hospital with severe leg and chest spasms, Telisha never expected the news she received just three days later. After multiple tests, an MRI and CAT scan revealed that Telisha had a tumor the size of a quarter on the left side of her brain. It was then that she was diagnosed with a Meningioma brain tumor at the young age of 41 years old.
Her brain tumor caused swelling in her brain that was pushing down on her cortex motor area, causing partial seizures on the right side of her body. Telisha began to deteriorate and started losing muscle control and movement on the right side of her body. With the extreme symptoms she was presenting and multiple neurosurgeons conducting a variety of tests, emergency surgery was the only choice she had. Her tumor was too big for radiation alone. Within three days, Telisha went from experiencing muscle spasms to preparing for brain surgery.
On the morning of Telisha’s 41st birthday, she underwent a 6 hour-long surgery to remove the brain tumor. With endless gratitude, her surgery was deemed successful. To say Telisha and her family’s lives were turned around at a million miles per hour would be an understatement.
Telisha is a single mother of four children aged 19, 10, 6 and 4. Her eldest daughter is attending college, while her three younger children are in elementary school. With the unexpected turn of events in their lives, Telisha and her family are experiencing a huge financial strain. With the surgery behind her, Telisha will need to continue her recovery at home. This road consists of physical therapy, rehabilitation, doctor’s visits and the assistance of a home aide. She cannot return to work for quite some time and will be unable to perform her typical day-to-day responsibilities for her children. Her doctors will need to continue to monitor her to ensure the tumor has been completely removed and doesn’t reappear.
Many of Telisha’s family members and friends have generously stepped up to the plate and offered their help after the diagnosis, but with the long road of recovery she has ahead of her she needs to provide stability for her family. Her biggest fear is losing her home and having her children’s lives be uprooted.
Wondering how you can help? We would appreciate donations to help fund the following expenses piling up:
· Medical expenses, past and future
· Transportation expenses for her children to travel back and forth from school
· Transportation expenses for doctors visits
· Rehabilitation costs
· Day-to-day living expenses
In the middle of the night, Telisha was experiencing rapid heart palpitations and uncontrollable movements in her right leg. After an exhausting few weeks preparing her kids for back to school, Telisha assumed she was just tired and not feeling well. However, the pain just wouldn’t let up. As time passed into the wee hours of the night, Telisha thought she was experiencing symptoms of a heart attack and called 911 in a panic. With her three young children by her side, she made the trip in an ambulance to a local neighborhood hospital.
Walking into the hospital with severe leg and chest spasms, Telisha never expected the news she received just three days later. After multiple tests, an MRI and CAT scan revealed that Telisha had a tumor the size of a quarter on the left side of her brain. It was then that she was diagnosed with a Meningioma brain tumor at the young age of 41 years old.
Her brain tumor caused swelling in her brain that was pushing down on her cortex motor area, causing partial seizures on the right side of her body. Telisha began to deteriorate and started losing muscle control and movement on the right side of her body. With the extreme symptoms she was presenting and multiple neurosurgeons conducting a variety of tests, emergency surgery was the only choice she had. Her tumor was too big for radiation alone. Within three days, Telisha went from experiencing muscle spasms to preparing for brain surgery.
On the morning of Telisha’s 41st birthday, she underwent a 6 hour-long surgery to remove the brain tumor. With endless gratitude, her surgery was deemed successful. To say Telisha and her family’s lives were turned around at a million miles per hour would be an understatement.
Telisha is a single mother of four children aged 19, 10, 6 and 4. Her eldest daughter is attending college, while her three younger children are in elementary school. With the unexpected turn of events in their lives, Telisha and her family are experiencing a huge financial strain. With the surgery behind her, Telisha will need to continue her recovery at home. This road consists of physical therapy, rehabilitation, doctor’s visits and the assistance of a home aide. She cannot return to work for quite some time and will be unable to perform her typical day-to-day responsibilities for her children. Her doctors will need to continue to monitor her to ensure the tumor has been completely removed and doesn’t reappear.
Many of Telisha’s family members and friends have generously stepped up to the plate and offered their help after the diagnosis, but with the long road of recovery she has ahead of her she needs to provide stability for her family. Her biggest fear is losing her home and having her children’s lives be uprooted.
Wondering how you can help? We would appreciate donations to help fund the following expenses piling up:
· Medical expenses, past and future
· Transportation expenses for her children to travel back and forth from school
· Transportation expenses for doctors visits
· Rehabilitation costs
· Day-to-day living expenses
Organizer
Candice Morales
Organizer
Laurel, MD
