This is Me Now

Flash forward to a couple of months later. I’m now a 100% recovered (finally) and in the all clear. My last MRI was all clear and I’m finally feeling like myself for the first time in eight months.

I’m currently living in Dallas trying to find a job which is proving difficult after about six months off- I have been feeling a bit discouraged. But nevertheless cross your fingers that’s something comes along because the cries that come from my bank account or me (same same) are getting out of hand.

I want to use this blog as a plat form to share my traveling experiences, my crazy life, and the little bits in between.

Jordan

The Surgery

It’s been a week since I have had the surgery to remove the large tumor that has been invading my skull/nose for the last 8 months or so. I couldn’t be happier that it’s out.

Don’t let the picture fool you I actually was in hysterics (a good mix of laughing and crying..mostly crying). That the surgery was over. In total the surgery took four years..I mean hours; HOURS. I lost a total of 3 litres of blood that was recycled through me as the surgery progressed. The vain that had been feeding the tumor was about 10x the normal size of a vain.

The tumor put up a fight, it was not eager to come out so a lot of cutting had to be done in order to fully removal the tumor. The surgery first began with going through my left eye (hence the black eye) were the vain feeding the tumor had to be cut off to prevent further bleeding. Once this was done the rest would be done through my nose.

To end the surgery there was a small hole in the lining of my brain a.k.a. the dura that had a small hole that had to be plastered with a bit of cartilage from my ear. Basically what I am trying to say is that everything that COULD go wrong DID go wrong.

It’s been a hard week to say the least. I am incredibly weak and most of the time suffering with dizziness, headaches, etc. that make daily tasks difficult. But, all that aside I am alive, I am relatively health, and I am tumor free.

The Lump

To keep it brief, my name is Jordan Wilson I am a 26 year old gal originally from Texas. About 2.5 years ago I decided to take the leap of moving across the world to begin a working holiday in Australia. With lots of travels in-between the most recent spot I have found myself in Auckland, New Zealand.

This story begins in Auckland. I began to notice a lump on the left side of my nose while staying in New Zealand. That lump began to make it very difficult to breathe as it was blocking my nasal passages. I began with going to a doctor in Auckland that confirmed what I had been thinking- it was simply a ‘polyp’ that needed removing.

Many discussions with insurance later- the ‘polyp’ was set to be removed on 13th of December with a 20k cap set on the surgery. Waking up from surgery, I immediately had the ‘gut feeling’ something was off. Kieran my partner immediately called me to tell me he was on his way and that we would talk about what happened when he got there. Obviously anyone would take this as a bad sign.

The word “tumour” immediately fell out. Gut wrenching, head spinning, I’ve never felt so sick. I am only 26, my body isn’t suppose to do this, this isn’t suppose to happen. It was almost like I had been betrayed by my own body. But, my doctor was in good spirits which immediately lifted my own. A later date in January was set to remove the tumour and I was immediately referred to another doctor who was an expert in the area of my specific/rare sort of tumour.

Mean while- life was going on. Kieran and I had plans to visit the U.K. for Christmas (as kieran likes to make expensive promises). We planned this months before the lump had come about. But, with my doctors and insurances written permission. They didn’t see any reason of why the journey still couldn’t be made. This began quite literally the holiday from hell.