23 Nov Inspiration & Foundation

Where do i begin? I have the honor to call this woman my mother. I look nothing like her but am so much like her in so many different ways. She is the reason why Miss Rehab Ramdass was born.  A few years ago in 2012 she was diagnosed with Kidney Cancer. The tumor was inside of the kidney making it inoperable. The entire right kidney was removed, and luckily for us the cancer didn’t spread. Fast forward to August of 2016 during one of her yearly scans, the doctors discovered a tumor in the left kidney, this time it was operable. She underwent surgery and the mass was removed. All seemed to be OK, and if i knew then what i know now we would not go home believing that she was cancer free. In June of 2017 i received a phone call from my brother to share that my mother was out for a walk and she collapsed, lost consciousness and bruised her head and knees. When i arrived at the E.R she seemed to be just fine with a couple of bruises from the fall. After several scans and MRI’s the doctors shared the most terrifying news a family can hear. We found two masses in the brain. We were given our options and immediately my siblings and I did some research. The doctors share a diagnosis, share your options and expect you to make a decision with almost little to no information. The sad reality of it is that we turn to google for answers. Between the months of June and now (November) they found a mass in her thyroid, 4 in the lungs.  This is considered stage 4 because her Kidney cancer has metastasized to other areas in the body. What i find interestingly enough is that the brain specialist asked us if we had seen the “Chemo pusher” and corrected himself and said i mean the Oncologist. Doctors suggested chemo treatment immediately. We came home did our research, came to the conclusion that aside from her changing her lifestyle and doing some alternative treatment we decided to do Gamma Knife Radiation. This radiation is so precise that it targets the tumor with sub millimeter accuracy with minimal damage to surrounding healthy tissue. Unlike chemotherapy which kills everything in its path, good and bad, The image above, is her right after radiation. The band on her head has ice packs to help soothe her head. If this isn’t Inspiration than i’m not sure what is. Elsa Garcia My Mother! My First Love! My foundation! This health journey is to help find your cure and help others on a similar path as you. May the “C” word become knowledge and understanding of the body and not fear of death and sadness. Our confidence of what we know, how we think and how we feel is just as impactful as what we eat. Meet Elsa! My Inspiration and Foundation!