So if you read part 1 of finding out I have a brain tumor, here is part 2. If you haven’t read part 1 yet please read that first so this will make more sense.

In part 1. I ended on how I found out about my brain tumor and how I was planning to tell my family.

My husband was gone and I was all alone for hours until he got home. So I did what I thought was the logical thing to do. Google everything, gain more knowledge about my medical situation, take it all in and process it.

I thought of how I would tell him. How I would explain it and when he finally came home I just looked at him and cried. Everything I had planned to say went right out the window. Emotions took over. He naturally asked me what was wrong and I blurted out “I have a brain tumor” totally not the way I wanted to deliver this scary information. But that’s how it came out. Now it’s real. I said it out loud and it’s real.

He just dropped everything he was holding when he came in and held me and we both cried for a good long while.

Actually, crying seemed to be very therapeutic in that moment. It was a release so to speak of the pressure of holding in all of those emotions and finally getting it out there.

After our cry, we just talked. He had questions of course and asked to see the results of my MRI which I showed him and in silence he read them over and over again and started to google. Same thing I did. I asked him to call his brother because he read my medical records and would be able to explain it better than me.

We didn’t know the extent of everything, how bad it was or what we should do about it. Could I live a full life like this? Would I have to have brain surgery? So many questions went through our minds.

We processed the information for a few days, gathering as much knowledge as we could on my type of brain tumor. We decided it was time to tell our kids. It looked like brain surgery was going to be the only option and I had to tell them. This was going to be the most uncomfortable talk we would ever have to have with our kids.

Let me explain. We’re the type of parents that do not burden our kids with our issues or problems. They have their own life. And I don’t in anyway mean to sound selfish or anything like that, I just keep things to myself rather than putting all my problems off on them. I don’t like them worrying about me. So to have to drop a bomb on them like this was just nerve wracking and weighed very heavy on my heart and mind.

We called them all and asked them to come over so we could talk to them individually. We didn’t tell them why over the phone. I just felt like something this big needed to be said in person. The ones that could come by did. The ones that could we ended up having to tell on the phone.

It was bad. But not as bad as I thought it would be. It felt good to be able to tell them and let them in for comfort and support. I guess I still have a tendency to always try to make things right before I have to drop a bomb. I’m definitely a fixer. And my kids are everything to me. I just didn’t want to put this weight on them. But this time it’s was inevitable.

We all rallied together and they were a huge support for me. And it was a relief to have some type of explanation for my behavior.

My symptoms:

Before I knew what was wrong with me I had plenty of red flags looking back. But never would have thought of a Brain Tumor. Not in a million years. These were my symptoms:

1. Memory loss

I started to forget. I chalked it up to being busy. A wife, a mom, a grandmother, a business owner, etc. but I was wrong.

I would forget conversations or plans that I had made. Sounds sort of common for someone overwhelmed, over worked and tired right?

I would intensely argue my point with my husband of things he said he told me and I believed he didn’t.

But the saddest part is when I forgot ages. Like how old I was, or my husband was, and how old my kids and grandkids are. I can remember birthdays but ages are something I really have to think about.

I would forget important dates like meetings, doctor appointments and such. And over time I lost time. It was scary. I’d drive somewhere and remember getting in the car and going, but not how I actually got there. I’d lose chunks of time. I really thought I was losing my mind. Losing touch with reality. And the worst part is I could feel it happening. I felt myself slipping away.

2. Continual headaches.

These weren’t like normal headaches.

3. Changes in vision. My eyesight has been pretty bad for a very long time. I do wear glasses to read. But I started seeing double with blurriness.

4. Hearing loss and ringing in the ears. Everything sounds muffled now. I noticed I have to turn up the volume on the TV or computer just to make out what they are saying now.

And the ringing in the ears is constant. More on the left side of my head and ear. From the moment I wake up until the moment I fall asleep my head rings. I’ve learned over time to deal with it but sometimes I get’s really annoying. The only relief I get from this symptom is when I’m asleep.

5. Loss of smell and taste. Sounds like a symptom of Covid right? But mine is spotty. It doesn’t come and go, it’s mostly just very muted.

6. Weakness in arms or legs.

I used to be very strong. I worked on the ranch with my husband building and repairing things constantly. Now I barely have the strength to lift a gallon of milk or hold my grandkids too long without having to sit down with them.

7. Language difficulty. Remembering words is hard for me. Like thinking of what you’re trying to say and actually getting it out of your mouth the right way is a task.

Sometimes I’ll be having a conversation and not remember the words I’m trying to say or even the point I’m trying to make.

8. Fatigue. This is a big one! I used to be so active. I mean I live on a horse ranch. I’m a mom and a grandma! I have a Buisness. I used to go go go! Morning til night. Now I wake up tired and go to bed tired. And it’s not mentally tired everything is actually physically exhausting doing anything is a task.

9. Nausea. On and off continual waves of nausea.

10. Loss of mobility. I used to workout and I used to do yoga. Now I can’t even bend. This is due to the brain tumor sitting on my spinal cord.

These are my top 10 symptoms and if you are experiencing any of them out of the ordinary you need to see your doctor. Not saying you have a brain tumor, just saying it’s better to be safe than sorry.