A woman received the shock of her life after she discovered she had a brain tumor. The 38-year-old was informed of her diagnosis after she went to see the doctor for a bad headache.
Her Worst Nightmare
Renae Cleary, from Perth, assumed her bad headache was just a severe migraine. She was told by her sister that it runs in the family; however, Renae was still recommended to get an MRI for her head "just to be safe".
Renae was then rushed to the emergency department of health at Perth hospital three days after a doctor informed her she had a 2.2 cm tumor in her brain. If she did not get it removed immediately, she would be dead in 24 hours.
Renae stayed at the Sir Charles Gardner Hospital in the dependency ward for five days where doctors monitored her health for 24 hours. Renae was able to track down a neurosurgeon who was able to remove the tumor. The operation was successful; however, Renae stated that she was later diagnosed with stage four of melanoma.
Skin Care Nightmare
Renae said that she had her skin checked regularly and she wasn't expecting this diagnosis at all.
"It scares me. It's frightening. You get taught to look for this, a changing mole will get sore or bleed but sometimes that just doesn't happen," says Renae. Doctors were unaware of how Renae developed melanoma since there were no signs of growth on her skin. The 38-year-old had to spend an additional two weeks in the hospital and had 19 staples in her head.
When Renae was finally allowed to go home, the recovery process was just as difficult. Renae wasn't allowed to cook, drive, or lift anything over 200 grams. After being for home five days, Renae felt leaking cerebral spinal fluid from where she was operated on. Despite numerous stitches, the leaking didn't stop. Renae had to go back to the hospital and receive a spinal tap to relieve the pressure and allow the are to heal properly.
Renae's Journey
During this operation, Renae was confined to her bed for 9 days and was in pain. She said that she had to discontinue pursuing her nursing degree. Renae also said that she and her husband, Jared, had to sell their apartment in order to cover medical expenses.
Renea is currently taking two different types of drugs that help her survive, but still has two tumors that are shrinking.
