Tessa's Story of Gratitude - Tessa

My whole adult life I've struggled with some rare health issues. When I was 21, I was diagnosed with a pituitary brain tumor (acromegaly) that caused all kinds of crazy side effects and greatly affected my everyday life. Once I was diagnosed, I had to have surgery immediately to avoid more severe damage. The disease I have is very rare and it took years of me searching for an answer to find someone that could diagnose me. I had two open surgeries and radiation surgery within one year. Ever since then, I've had to constantly manage my disease and deal with fluctuating hormones. Fast forward to a decade later, my father was diagnosed with ALS. We knew it was a 50/50 chance he would have the disease since my aunt, grandmother, and great grandfather passed away from ALS. Once he onset, my siblings and I had our genetic testing completed. I was the only one with the genetic mutation.

Watching my father slowly deteriorate and knowing that without a cure or treatment found soon, I would go down the same path. It was extremely difficult grieving my health all over again. I slid into a major depression and became suicidal. I still felt something else was off with me besides the emotional trauma I was experiencing. Later I had a brain scan done and found out I had suffered a concussion causing frontal lobe damage. It explained a lot of the unusual behavior I was exhibiting. Now, I am participating in studies for ALS and frontal lobe damage. In the last few months, I've started to feel more like my goofy, energetic, happy self again. Throughout all of these events in my life, I finished school, moved to a new city, excelled in my career, and kept pushing to build a very rewarding life for myself. I only work 3 days a week and get to take advantage of the flexible schedule to do the things I truly love like traveling, hiking, spending time with friends and family, and just enjoy this beautiful, crazy life I have.