In 1996, LJ Fullerton like many of us do bumped her head, while getting out of her car. She shares her story and medical challenges to educate others.
In her words, “My head stung for a few moments and I thought nothing else about it. Later that week I started to get headaches, and a huge lump called a Hematoma (blood clot) formed on the back of my skull. My doctor said it would be very painful for at least a month until the blood reabsorbs back into my system, but the pain kept getting worse. An ‘after hours’ doctor confirmed I had a blood clot and sent me home. Within 2 weeks the blood clot had grown to the size of 6x2-1/2” and could be seen from across the room.”
She continued, “I had x-rays, saw a neurologist, a neurosurgeon, went to a pain clinic, and visited my own doctor several times with no relief. I was given many painkillers, none of which helped. I could understand for the first time why someone wouldn’t want to live, if they had to be in that much pain. It truly felt like something was eating my brain!”
Her boyfriend, knowing something was wrong, supported LJ by pushing for medical support.
After lapsing into a coma, a CT scan uncovered a mass in her cerebellum and she had emergency brain surgery. During the surgery a mass of puss was drained, and the base of her skull was removed.
LJ described, “The Hematoma had become infected with two forms of Strep and a Staph infection. These infections literally ate their way through my skull, and formed an abscess in my cerebellum. If the doctors had only ordered a blood test, they would’ve seen that my white count was in triple digits, and could’ve given me antibiotics, which may have killed the infections, and I never would have needed this horrible surgery. I remember waking up in the ICU with tubes hanging out of me, a reverse Mohawk hair cut and metal staples like a zipper up the back of my head.”
She was sent home with a pic line and IV antibiotics to continue battling the infections. Months later LJ was hopeful to return to work but her health took another turn for the worse.
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