A Tale of Brenda's Brain Tumor Journey...

Trevor here, with our August tale. Today is Sunshine Saturday, which has been celebrated since 2015, usually on the 2nd Saturday of each month. A day to reflect on all things positive. I can't think of a better day to share this tale about Brenda's brain tumor journey, because so many great things have transpired since that day. Brenda had her craniotomy on September 8, 2008, almost 12 years ago and exactly one month from today. 

Brenda does live with an acquired brain injury, frontal lobe syndrome as a result of where her brain tumor was located and removed. It can cause her to become quick to react, by becoming angry or brought to tears. It isn't necessarily a bad thing. Brenda has learned how to control her reactions, by knowing when it is best to step away or spend time reflecting. She started her journal 6 months after her brain surgery and has been keeping one ever since. In fact, she is now on her 12th journal. Writing helps, as it allows Brenda to express her emotions without fear of reprisal, and as a way of cleansing her soul, if you will. I'm not much for baths, as I'm a dog. BOL I know my other golden furiends out there understand. BOL 

I got off the track again. BOL Brenda sometimes has that problem also, if she is interrupted or not allowed to finish her train of thought, it can be gone just like that. That was one of the most frustrating things to deal with, during the first year on this journey. 

During the second year, something amazing happened. Brenda sat down at her computer one day and started composing her first blog post. It was soon discovered that Brenda had received another gift and that was writing. Brenda's first gift was singing and she used that in many ways, as she was growing up, but writing was different. She was able to share with others how it was, living the life of a brain tumor survivor. It's kind of strange, because as you know, Brenda didn't even realize for many months after, that she had actually had a brain tumor. It was only referred to as a lesion, mass, and the kind that she actually had, a meningioma. No one ever used the words, brain tumor. It wasn't until she actually saw the words that her neurosurgeon had written on a piece of paper; "Had a brain tumor." The light finally came on. Brenda knew from this moment on, that she had been through something serious and survived. Things started to change in a big way. That is what we are going to focus on with this blog post. 

As was mentioned up above, Brenda started blogging. Her blog was titled; Brenda's Brainstorm, an idea that she got while in the shower. It was an inspiration out of the blue. Brenda mainly shared about her struggles with being a brain tumor survivor. She didn't know anyone personally, other than a cousin, who oddly enough, had had the same type that she did. 

Brenda had also been living with another challenge, Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) at that time, for over 17 years. It was because of that, that she did not have to endure OT or PT after. They were amazed in the hospital, how well she could move. It was truly a blessing, that she had been living with RA. If you don't understand, we cannot explain it, it just was. 

Brenda's whole outlook on life changed. The big one was how she was going to continue to live with RA. That was in part, due to a connection with a friend on Facebook, named RA Guy. Brenda was inspired by his outlook and how he was helping so many out there. She had also made a promise to her mother while she was dying, to live her life and grab what she wanted. She has kept that promise in so many ways. 

Brenda's mother passed away on May 31, 2011 and things have never been the same, just as when Brenda had her craniotomy on September 8, 2008. These were 2 altering life events. Brenda took advantage of grabbing what she wanted and started to take risks. Meaning, she decided to make some real changes and even make a difference in the process. 

I was big part of that. BOL. In February of 2011, when Brenda's mother became ill, she added me as storyteller for her blog. It now became Brenda's Brainstorm & Featuring Trevor, The Tell Tale Dog aka Trevor's Tales. Adding someone like me, a golden retriever would make it much more creative and fun to share tales from a dog's point of view. It seemed to take off, although Brenda's mother did not seem so thrilled at first. This is something we have never shared before. She really loved me, even if she thought I looked like I had my nose up in the air. BOL I even came to visit her in the nursing home and you should have seen the looks. It was priceless. BOL 

Brenda's mother thought she was a good writer and if this was something she wanted to do to be creative, so be it. Brenda found out the day of her mother's funeral, that she wrote poetry. Brenda even wrote several poems after that. She believes that was a gift her mother left her. There is so much more. Let's explore! 

2012 was a whirlwind year for Brenda, much like her 1st year of living as a brain tumor survivor. Brenda was involved in several projects. First was a book project with RA Guy being her guide for a book titled; Show Us Your Hands. Brenda shared her hands story and had several photos taken while she was involved in another project with CreakyJoints. Don't you love that name? It worked out perfectly. On April 20, 2012, the 11th anniversary of Brenda taking her 1st injection with a biologic, she got to do something she thought would never happen, she participated in a work advocacy day. 

It consisted of 4 meetings, a local TV and newspaper interview. This was all of featured on a YouTube video with the Global Healthy Living Foundation aka CreakyJoints. The videographer took the photos for the book. See how beautifully this worked out?

It didn't stop there. The next year on March 11, 2013, Brenda once again stepped up to the plate and testified at her state capitol on another important issue, which oddly enough, was centered around her taking a biologic. Brenda's advocacy efforts, meant that ND was one of the first six states in the 50-State Network to have this legislation passed. That was a proud moment for Brenda. She remembers the phone call and how she felt at that moment. It was a joint effort as she worked alongside another staff member from the Global Healthy Living Foundation, who also testified that day. 

It kept evolving, Next, would be becoming an editor for an online publication for 3 years. Brenda enjoyed this so much. She got to see all of the great talent first. She even brought some of them along during a book project, she was involved with. Her advocacy continues with serving on the CreakyJoints Patient Council.

There were several other projects involving writing, 2 of which she was a coauthor. Imagine having your name on a book cover. Brenda says there is nothing like it. Brenda was involved in several other projects, where she was a contributing writer. 

Probably her greatest joy was being a guest not once, twice, but three times, on an Internet Radio show, with our friend, Rick Franzo on Brain Tumor Talk: Worldwide Radio Show. She was allowed to not only share about her brain tumor journey, but her RA one as well. Brenda has realized over the years, that the 2 cannot be separated. 

Brenda keeps her blog current, with at least one blog post a month. She works full-time and celebrated her 32nd anniversary with the clinic on June 2nd. I think that is a lot to be grateful for and believe me, she is.

We hope you enjoyed this tale. This has been a T Man Production. Brenda even created something, that I think is pretty cool. We will leave you with that.