Sorry for not posting for a while. I’ve been recovering from my second tumor removal surgery.

March 13, 2024 I went in for my second brain surgery. Just to refresh you, November 18, 2022 I went in for my first tumor resection which went awfully bad. Horrible even. It was a total nightmare.

I went in for what my first doctor told me was a “walk in the park” Drive through brain surgery that he does all of the time. first red flag.

1. The doctor nicked my artery within the first few minutes of cutting into my head.

2. I lost 3 liters of blood almost died and had my NDE.

3. I Had to have 2 blood transfusions, 2 packs each time.

4. My artery in my brain is now dead on the left side. I only have the right side artery left.

5. I Had to get an angiogram (through the groin) which messed up the artery in my leg. I had no pulse in my leg, no blood flow in my leg.

6. I Went in for another emergency surgery to repair the femoral artery which did not work so they had to cut part of it out and replace it with a man made artery from the lab.

7. I Had 3 small strokes.

8. I Had to learn to walk again through physical therapy. it took months.

All this with a surgery that was supposed to be a walk in the park?!

Needless to say I was terrified to do the second go round. I think I had some PTSD.

Anyway, I am pleased to say that the second surgery went a lot better. We had a plan, which unlike the first doctor, I was apart of making the decisions for this plan. I was included which made me feel a lot better. Over the year I built up a lot of trust with the second doctor.

The whole surgery from start to finish was 12 hours long. It went longer than we originally planned. The second doctor really took his time and went in very cautiously because of what I had gone through the first time.

Our game plan from the start was to remove 80% of the tumor. He got 90% of it. Leaving 10% in my head which we are doing radiation on.

He was not able to get 100% of the tumor due to its location and everything it was growing in to, it would just be too dangerous.

As it is, the tumor was entangled in a vein which he had to cut causing another stroke. which I was aware of prior to surgery but hoped and prayed for the best outcome.

The stroke affected my whole left side and part of my right side. I was in ICU for 3 weeks before being released.

I kept having these episodes when the pressure in my head was so intense and too much to handle I would become non responsive. The headaches were just too much.

So when you have a brain tumor your brain produces extra cerebral fluid, like I guess to try and flush it out from what I was told. All that fluid had no where to go so it was pushing on my brain causing swelling and pressure.

I ended up having to have a lumbar drain to remove the extra fluid because it was way too much for my body to absorb. We discussed that if this procedure fails there is a possibility of needed a permanent shunt put in.

That scared the hell out of me and I prayed like I’ve never prayed before. I called on my spirit guides to please help me. And in the end the procedure worked. 🙏

New scar looks a lot better than the first one.

My whole hospital stay this time around was completely different. Everyone was so caring and supportive and you could really tell they cared by their actions.

The nurses were great and my surgeon, well I just can’t say enough about him. He is a hero. That man stood on his feet for 12 hours, besides a few breaks, and fixed me. He gave me another chance at life.

Now the real work begins. I get to go home! This time I gave myself goals. I told myself every morning that I got it and that I’ll be able to walk again soon. They told me probably 3-6 months, I gave myself 2 month max. Yeah yeah, I know. I’m very competitive especially with myself. Ive been home now about 3 weeks. post surgery about 6 weeks. I waked with a walker for the first few weeks and have now graduated to a cane. There’s no doubt in my mind that I will be walking on my own again within the next few weeks.

Hard work, physical therapy and goals along with a strong competitive positive mindset have helped me tremendously.

After my first botched surgery I have to say I was lost, devastated and very negative about doing the surgery again. But working closely with my new doctor and my spirit guides gave me a renewed sense of hope.

If anyone is going through the same thing or something similar and would like to talk or compare notes please feel free to reach out and I’ll be happy to help in anyway way that I can.

Tasha Castagna

Tcastagna06@yahoo.com