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Bonnie's Story in her own wordsI was on my way to church that Sunday to drop off my husband's poetry. I kissed him good bye and told him I would see him later. He was expecting a telephone call, so I had given him my cell phone to use.About 10 minutes later, while I was driving on the Florida Turnpike, my vision started getting blurry. Cars suddenly would disappear what seemed like a mirror abysses. I knew that I had to pull over; as this was not normal. Because I did not have my cell phone with me, I put on my flashers and waited for someone to stop. But no one stopped. So I prayed to God and asked if He could please help me. I asked God to help me drive my car and not kill or hurt anyone in the process. Having strong faith and trusting the Lord, I started my car and drove with my emergency lights on; driving with my left hand on the wheel and my right hand over my left eye. I drove about 25 minutes this way to the Emergency Room at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida. Once again, no one stopped or noticed me. The reason for this, I believe, is because God was taking care of me and keeping me safe. When I arrived at the hospital, a woman asked me what was wrong. When I told her that I had blurred vision she parked the car for me. They tested me for Diabetes. Thank goodness that test came back normal. Next they tested me for Glaucoma. This test also came back normal. After both of those tests were done, the technician then said they would like to do a Cat Scan on me. The results of this showed a very large mass on the right side of my brain. I was diagnosed with a brain tumor! I could not believe it. To make matters worse, I needed immediate surgery and there was no neurosurgeon on staff. Therefore, they wanted to transfer me ASAP to St. Mary's Hospital in West Palm Beach by ambulance. In Palm Beach County, the malpractice insurance for Neurosurgeons was $250,000 per year. On account of this, the top Doctors were not practicing at this time. The nurses gathered around me to hold hands and pray that everything would turn out okay. Meanwhile, I was waiting for my husband to show up at the hospital. When he finally arrived, they took us St. Mary's Hospital. My husband took charge and promised that he would do whatever it took to make sure I would be okay. We waited two days to see the Neurosurgeon. The doctor wanted to take sections of my tumor for biopsy. Stuart told them no way was he allowing this procedure by the doctor to take place. Next thing we knew, we were dismissed from St. Mary's Hospital. By this time, I was having difficulty speaking, suffering terrible headaches, could barely walk, and had blurry vision. I also could not write, all my motor skills were not functioning, best of all, I lost my bladder control. It could not get any worse than that. My husband and I both discussed alternatives. We had called the Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach, Florida. We spoke to the director, Brian Clement, who turned out to be a very helpful, sensitive and caring individual. Brian, hearing how serious the situation was asked if we could come in the next day to meet with him. Stuart had to physically carry me to Brian's office. We all knew that I was going to need surgery as soon as we could find a Doctor to do it. In the meantime, Brian recommended The Life Give Products Supplements for my Brain, and Magnet therapy. In addition, I changed my eating habits immediately! This meant no more coffee with hazelnut cream, no sugar, sweet n low, no flour, very little fruit, no meat, no chicken, no fish…Only living foods and raw foods, WHEATGRASS, green drink, lots of sprouts, and water with lemon. I had to make a major life change in the way that I ate in order to save myself. Several months later I had my surgery at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. My surgery lasted seven hours, and I lost seven pints of blood. Dr. John Park led the team for my surgery. Besides losing blood, they also shaved the front section of my head from ear to ear. The rest of my frontal hair was so knotted I had to cut the hair off. Plus, I became Anemic after my surgery. The size of my Atypical Mengioma brain tumor was close to four pounds (the size of a grapefruit). The next morning I woke up in intensive care and my girlfriend called asked me what I was doing. I told her I was brushing my teeth and sitting in a chair. She could not believe it. The last time I visited with her - I was having speech problems, unable to see or write or walk, or use my limbs and I had trouble remembering things. But that day, I remembered exactly who I was speaking to. My memory was clear again. I felt like a new person! My recovery time was 5 days in the hospital plus two days as an outpatient. I had forty-seven staples in my head; all of which were removed my last day as an outpatient before I headed home. I keep them as a reminder of what I went through and the people that were there for me. I did not need any rehabilitation or therapy. Thank you God! I was able to speak clearly for the first time in years and people understood what I was saying. When we got home from the hospital, the first thing we did was buy a juicer to make my WHEATGRASS and green drink. I started buying sprouts and WHEATGRASS and even started growing my own. Because of the surgery (having to pull my skin down to get to my skull) I had trouble seeing objects around me. So six weeks later, I had eye surgery to remove the excess skin so that my vision would improve. After that surgery was done, I looked like Rocky Balboa meets the Walking Dead because my eyes were so swollen. On account of this, I had to wear dark wrap-around glasses. I remember the time I had to throw out the garbage because the garbage men were outside and I did not have my glasses on. I scared them to death. They thought something or someone did something to me. At that point looked in the mirror and almost scared myself. I wondered if I would ever look normal again. My face was yellow and swollen. Add to that, I swelled up because of steroids. Both of my arms were purple from all the IV's. Looking in the mirror was difficult. When I brushed my teeth and washed my face, I closed my eyes because I could not bear to look. I was so depressed. I was very grateful to be alive. I knew I would have to work on my inner beauty because I did not know what would become of me. I was very fortunate that I had the best care in the entire world. As soon as I arrived home from the hospital, I would ask God every day what I could do to make a difference... Part of me wanted to go out in the sunshine and feel the light of being alive and the other part of me was afraid of what I looked like. But I was so depressed about my appearance. Two months later, I started feeling tired and my head was hurting again so I had a MRI with contrast. They found two small tumors in my brain. My husband and I flew up to the National Institute of Health and had another MRI with contrast. The Doctors found one small tumor. Since I had an aggressive brain tumor, the Doctors wanted to do immediate radiation on my brain for 6 weeks, once a day. I knew what the effects of radiation would bring-that I would have a malignant tumor five years to twenty-five years later somewhere else in my body. Stuart and I agreed that we would take an alternative route. After my surgery, I was very consistent with the program at first, but as time went on, I slowly started to slack off; by not juicing everyday. Also, I started to eat the wrong type of foods more frequently. We spoke to Brian again and he told us no fruit, no carrots, no dairy, and absolutely no sugar. Brian then asked me "If I had an ironing board" and I said "yes why?". He wanted me to put my head on the floor and raise my legs on the ironing board leaning up on the couch twice a day for fifteen minutes, so the blood would rush to my head and help with the healing process. Knowing that Brian knew his stuff I was willing to do what he asked of me. I was afraid of what could happen if I did not stick to the plan. We also went to an acupuncturist for two months, used Chinese aggressive herbs, and wore the magnetic head band, drank green drink, WHEATGRASS, and ate lots of different kinds of sprouts several times a day; as well as living and raw foods. Each sprout that I ate had different healing properties. I started preparing recipes out of cookbooks, took the raw food class at Hippocrates, and became creative with my own recipes and meals. Last November, the week before I was supposed to start radiation, I kept stalling for I knew that I did not feel the need for radiation. The Hospital in Florida called to do one more MRI for radiation preparation. This MRI was short, too short. Having now had 8 MRI's under my belt, I knew this MRI was only 10 minutes long. I called my Neurosurgeon asked him for one more MRI with contrast. I told him that if anything shows up, I would go through radiation without a word. I got my wish. Because I knew in my heart, there would be nothing there. They did another MRI with contrast. The findings of that MRI was no more tumors no blood clots, no more hemorrhage. Everything was gone except the white matter disease. All the Doctors could say was that I did not need radiation. In May 2005, we went to the NIH for my 3 month check up. I had another MRI with contrast. The white matter disease was gone. In Florida we had ten days of rain everyday. When I got home from work my husband asked me what I did to my hair? My hair had frizzed all around my scalp. All I said to myself was that I needed A DAY OF SUNSHINE! And the rest is history. I got the answer that I was searching for. I would start a company called A DAY OF SUNSHINE to make a difference and be in service to help others. The magic started to happen for me. I am no longer Anemic and my hair has grown back thick and beautiful. In fact, two weeks ago I had my first professional haircut since my surgery last year. I was chosen to be the cover story for a major insurance magazine. I also became a brain tumor advocate, and was appointed to the National Institute of Health Patient Advocacy Panel. In addition, I started a nonprofit company called "A Day of Sunshine" to help brain tumor patients, cancer patients, and individuals build their self esteem in a positive, joyful way, so that they can get back to living their life again. Plus, we also include the caregivers, the person who was and by their side. The caregiver is just as important that is why we include them in the special program. I believe you have to lead by being a living example. That is what I am doing today. From where I was to where I am in my journey is incredible! I look back and see so many positive changes. I was told by my roommate at the National Institute of Health, before and after my surgery, to pamper and take care of myself. It is very important. With that in mind, and with all that I have gone through, I decided to pamper others via "A DAY OF SUNSHINE)" There is no charge for this service, this is a gift! We welcome donations so we can make a difference and help others. With our team of licensed cosmetologists, licensed hairdressers, CNA's, we will come to your house and sparkle and tidy your bedroom or your living room it or your television room, an or your kitchen well as pamper you with a manicure, pedicure and perhaps a mini facial if your doctor approves. In addition we will be serving a raw and living snack, as well as bring fresh flowers as a way to cheer you upon this special day. For more information about A Day of Sunshine, volunteer opportunities or to make a donation: please call: 561.385.0151 or contact us through the Website at http://www.adayofsunshine.org/ First I like to thank God for being here, Without my husband's love I would not be here today. Thank you Stuart I thank him for not giving up what needed to be done. I would also like to thank my family, my friends Brian and Ann Marie, as well as the staff at Hippocrates Health Institute for their love and support. I Dr. John Park-My Neurosurgeon, Dr. Fine - My Oncologist, and the other Doctors, Nurses, and office staff at the National Institute of Health for their love and support, as well as Dr. Phillips and Dr. Grassi, Dr. Sears, and Dr. Blossom for their wisdom, advice, and friendship. |
| A Day of Sunshine Foundation • 565 South Easy Street • Sebastian, Florida 32958 • 561.385.0151 or 772.589.5944 |