For months, my head ached. I saw two doctors – an ENT and a neurologist and was diagnosed with cerebral abscess.
My sister is a doctor and she was not satisfied with the diagnosis. So we sent the scanned images to different doctors outside the country and they said it was a brain tumour; hydrocephalus, a condition in which there is an accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) within the brain.
I travelled to Germany, where I did another MRI scan, then went into surgery. The tumour was resting on brain stems. After my first surgery, there was a complication – the CT scan showed blood in my brain. They had to do lumber drainage, so I had to lie on my back for 18 days. I couldn’t stand. After the surgery, I couldn’t see and had to learn to walk again.
The fluid was still there, so they had to do a procedure; install a manual shunt inside me, from my head to my abdomen to manually drain fluid. I still live with the shunt.
Part of the tumour is still in my brain. If they had removed everything, I’d probably be a vegetable by now. I still do my day-to-day activities. I’ve reduced my work hours. I have headaches from time to time, but I thank God for it all. He’s been good.
People ask me how I can still smile with everything that I’ve been through, but that’s just my way of life.
Ijeoma, God bless you for sharing your story of hope, strength, courage, and divine mercy. There are many people going through challenging situations, and feel hopeless, helpless, and lack the strength to go in. Please put you story out there and make it more accessible to many. God bless you