Jen Choudhry

First post: May 17, 2018 Latest post: Mar 5, 2019

     April 18, 2018 was a day was any other - getting up at 4:45 to go the gym, making the kids breakfast, packing up to go to school.  I taught my two classes at my preschool and was buckling Sky into the car seat to go to ice skating when the world changed in the  blink of a eye (or should I say face).  My face started to have a seizure and I could not speak.  Waiting to see if it would pass, I sat in the car 10 minutes (I was being optimistic I guess).   Carrying Sky back into preschool, I found assistance from my friends.  Everyone thought I was having a stroke.
    The good news it was not a stroke !  The bad news brain scans determined it was a brain tumor who decided to land right next to my speech and language center (hence, not being able to speak).  I could have had this tumor for years and never known it.  On this April Wednesday, the swelling around the tumor had finally gotten to the point where my brain could not take it anymore, and the seizure occurred.
     On Monday, April 23, five hours of brain surgery left me with 14 staples and the removal of  a small section of the tumor in order to determine its pathology.  The good news is, they found an amazing brain (okay, I made that up).  The bad news is, the tumor is so close to my language center that removing the tumor is not an option without the risk of permeant damage (such as not being able to speak or reprimand my kids).  After a hospital stay of 9 days, I was more than ready to come and run.
     The tumor is called an astrocytoma, a relatively rare cancer that is rather luck of the draw - not hereditary or due to environmental factors.   The diagnosis classified it as grade 2 (with 1 being good and 4 being  bad - well, I guess they are all sort of bad!)    Since they can not remove the tumor (Chase called it "Bob"), I will go through 30 consecutive days (well, not including weekends and holidays - tumors don't work on non-pay days) of radiation.  Following that I will go through a one year long regimen of chemo including pills and intravenous medicine.  
     This year long journey will never remove the tumor, but its goal is to kill the cancer cells, there for making me live the awesome life that God has granted me.  God has a plan for me.  Follow along on this journal to see His amazing blessings.  Since April 18, I have seen His hand every single day.  I invite you to be a part of it.

CaringBridge is a nonprofit social network dedicated to helping family and friends communicate with and support loved ones during a health journey. Learn more about CaringBridge.

To interact with Jen’s website, sign in or register today.

By registering with CaringBridge, you will join over 300,000 people a day who are supporting friends and family members.

Sign In Or Register
SVG_Icons_Back_To_Top
Top