~NF Awareness Month, day 2~
When I was in 8th grade I suddenly started getting these bad headaches and throwing up a lot. Of course, since the throwing up was mostly in the mornings (before school) and there had been really no warning, my mom thought I was faking to get out of school. Okay, once or twice I can see, but almost every day for a month? Even I wouldn't try to get away with that. But whatever. How did I finally convince my mom to take me to the doctor, you ask? Easy- I threw up in the middle of the hall at school. Pretty convincing. We did the round of doctors, meet a great child neurologist who upon seeing the MRI of my brain said "We need to check you into the hospital NOW." (I kinda wish he'd said STAT but apparently that just happens on tv.) There was a huge (bigger than a golf ball, smaller than a basketball, but hey- it was in my HEAD so golf ball is huge, ok?) tumor in the back of my brain causing the fluid to not drain properly. Thus, bad headaches and throwing up. Told you I wasn't faking, Mom! :)
Long story short (this time) two weeks in the hospital and all I got was a lousy haircut and a bad-ass scar. Oh, and, you know, no more tumor.
That was my first experience with NF2. Only we didn't know it was NF2 because we had never heard of it. .Approximately 50% of those affected with Neurofibromatosis have a prior family history of NF. However, the other 50% of cases are the result of spontaneous genetic mutation. So, I'm a mutant. Professor X never came to invite me to his school though and the only power I seem to have developed is the power to grow tumors pretty much everywhere. Mostly on the inside though, so you wouldn't even know it to look at me.
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