Angie is one of those people............
I wanted you all to have the opportunity to meet her too and so here's Angies introduction ...........
Hello, and welcome to #braintumourwarrior. I want to tell you a little about this site and my story.
The medical stuff…
My name is Angie, I’m 27 and in December 2015 I underwent a craniotomy on a brain tumour. The good news was that the tumour was low grade, but the bad news was where it was – on the optic nerve, and beginning to push the pituitary gland out of the way a little. Because of its positioning, the surgery was open and from the left hand side. This blog tells my story of recovering from my craniotomy, as well as first finding the tumour in my final year at University and everything that’s gone alongside.
What is a #braintumourwarrior?
A #braintumourwarrior, by my own definition, is anyone fighting with all their might against this disease – be it through your own diagnosis, a friend or relative, low or high grade. I’ve met so many brain tumour warriors on my journey already, and the strength we all give to each other is quite something to see.
I’ve chosen #braintumourwarrior as a general hashtag across social media platforms, and would love to see more and more people including it in their posts and getting it trending as a collation of valuable content on the fight against brain tumours.
Where do I fit in?
You might see quite a few mentions of The Brain Tumour Charity in my blog posts and pictures. As an individual and writer of this blog, I should stress that I am not endorsed by The Brain Tumour Charity, rather just that I find their work invaluable, have fundraised for them and am a regular user of their private Facebook support group. All opinions expressed on this blog are my own.
Aims of #braintumourwarrior…
There are several aims of this blog and my 2016 resolution to keep it updated:
- Quite selfishly, I want to get used to being in front of a computer again. I have a mostly computer-based job as an Account Manager at a Digital Agency, which I love and can’t wait to get back to. I see this blog as ‘practice’ and becoming aware of my limits as I recover.
- To help people. I’m very open to questions and found it so helpful to speak to others who’d gone through similar surgery and ask questions before facing my own. I found I got a different and equally valuable angle in speaking to other patients than to doctors/nurses. Please do ask away, both in blog comments and via Twitter @AngieDigital (I’d be happy to follow you back for private messaging). And finally…
- is related to both (1) and (2)…I must admit, being in hospital and surrounded by doctors and nurses who save lives every day, I began to question my own life path and how much I do in my career to help other people. Certain work projects that I’ve been involved with in the past year have definitely improved people’s lives – for example: bringing easier and more straightforward access to vital council services to an English locality, helping schools and colleges to get online and gain access to their alumni tp attend/run events to inspire current students, and creating a site to train the pharmacists of the future. But I want more. I want to do more. Through various initiatives in my work and personal life, in 2016, I want to help people feel less alone – through the power of the internet and digital inclusion. Sharing my story online to help brain tumour sufferers and their families is just the first step.
https://braintumourwarrior.wordpress.com/about/