Story
Name
Zeniyah Wright
Injury/Illness
Brain Tumor
Two weeks after moving to Florida from little Rock Arkansas, Zeniyah was diagnosed with a stage IV brain tumor (glioblastoma).
She presented one day with signs of confusion after reporting to me (her mother) that she had a headache. We rushed her to the ER where a CAT scan was performed, and the tumor was discovered, and she was diagnosed on May 19th, 2019.
She had her first surgery at Tampa general hospital on May 20, 2019 and recovered back to 100%. Within 5 days, however 30 days later the tumor grew back, and we were sent back to Tampa for another surgery on June 19, 2019. She then had to undergo a 3rd brain surgery on June 20, 2019 because there was increased pressure in her brain from the 2nd surgery. She also had her right bone flap removed to lower her brain, the space it needed to swell and heal without causing increased pressure within her skull. We spent two and a half months in Tampa as she experienced “neuro storming” after the surgeries.
Now Zeniyah has significant left sided weakness as a result of the surgeries and tumor. She also underwent 6 weeks of radiation and chemo combined and is now receiving maintenance doses of chemo for 5 days a month every month in an attempt to keep the tumor at bay.
It has been a true struggle being a single parent and recently moving to a new state with no family or assistance, then having to be off work to tend to doctor’s appointments while trying to work part time and get care arranged for Zeniyah so that I can earn some sort of income for us during this trying time.