We like to think that if we listen and pay close enough attention to our bodies, we can know exactly how to stay well. Usually, being mindful works when one wishes to reduce stress, lose weight, or control certain emotional reactions.
But for other things, being mindful is not enough. It's impossible to know the exact moment when a tumor is forming, though symptoms that may occur later can indicate its presence in the body. Little Giovanni Maczmarek and his parents are just beginning to understand how truly lucky he is, after a chance fall and a crucial decision caught the one in his brain in the nick of time.
In April 2016, the 9-month-old had accidentally fallen off his changing table, so his worried parents rushed him to the emergency room as a precaution.
Doctors performed routine tests to check for brain damage, but it's what they found instead that worried them the most.
Instead of bleeding or any other injury, they saw a golf-ball-sized tumor in the center of his brain.
Further analysis of the tumor revealed that Giovanni was extremely lucky: if his parents hadn't brought him to the hospital, the tumor would not have been found until it was too late. By the time the child would have presented symptoms, he wouldn't have much time left.
The procedure would have normally been risky. However, doctors were able to use an innovative new method to get Giovanni home in no time, and without lasting damage to his brain.
Please SHARE if you're glad this family was able to stay intact, thanks to chance and the knowledge of his doctors!
