Welcome to My Mind... and My Meningioma!

The big white spot in the middle of my head is the location of the meningioma.

Welcome to Healing Headspace! I'm Rachel, a 36 year old Doctor of Physical Therapy recently diagnosed with a 4 cm skull-base meningioma. Follow along with me as I navigate this journey of diagnosis and treatment... and healing along the way.

About Me

Originally from Missouri, I now live in California with my husband and our pup Finnley. As a physical therapist, I am not used to being on the patient side of healthcare. Many times in my life I took to journaling to cope with tough times so I thought, why not journal publicly? That way friends and family can stay up to date with my condition and maybe we can learn something together.

Diagnosis

How did I get here? Well, it all started about a year ago. At the time I was working for a home health agency. I remember getting home from a day out in the field, sitting down rather abruptly at my desk to start charting notes, and experiencing a sudden, sharp, stabbing pain in my head. I thought, "That was weird." But it quickly subsided and I continued on with my evening. Over the following months, pains similar to this became more frequent. Eventually I developed a what I call my "background noise" headache, a pain inside my head, slightly to the right which is always present. The pain became worse with straining, exertion, and changing positions. At times, it was so severe it would stop me in my tracks!

Cue a visit to the doctor. At first, my primary care physician was hesitant to order imaging. Understandably, as medical imaging is often over utilized. We tried a week of lifestyle modifications- no alcohol, magnesium supplement to aid my sleep, and a daily allergy pill to make sure my sinuses were not the culprit. However, deep in my gut I knew something more serious was afoot. One CT scan and MRI later, I found out I have what appears to be a 4 cm meningioma at my skull base. My physician immediately sent a referral to UCSF neurosurgery and here I am waiting for an appointment and starting a blog about my experience to help me not lose my mind!