WELCOME TO MY BLOG! - About Me

Aware of Angels @season.atwater.photography

Hello and welcome to my blog! I'm going to be completely honest right now.

I don't know what I'm doing.

I legit don't know the first thing about blogging! But I guess I have to start somewhere so...here it goes! Since this is my first ever blog post, I figured it might be a good idea to introduce myself by giving you my best "first day of school introduction".

My name is Mikaela Gage but my family calls me Kaela and my friends call me Mickey so really you can call me whatever you like. I am 19 years old and I'm the only girl in my family with four older brothers who are also my best friends. My favorite colors are blue and pink. I love dogs, penguins, being outdoors, MARVEL, Netflix, Sprite, and Jesus. I also have a disease called von Hippel-Lindau.

Now the first time I ever heard about von Hippel-Lindau was about a year and a half ago when I was diagnosed, so I'm still learning. But basically, VHL is a rare genetic disease that affects 1 in 36,000 people in the world. It causes tumors and cysts to grow in up to 10 different parts of the body. These growths can either be benign or cancerous. There is no cure, and really the only treatment is surgery to remove the tumors or drain the cysts when they cause problems.
(For more information on von Hippel-Lindau, visit https://www.vhl.org/)

In April of 2016, I was in the middle of my junior year of high school when I began experiencing symptoms. I was dealing with vertigo, nausea, fatigue, and just some other random things. It didn't help either that I was a starting outfielder on the varsity softball team.

We went to a few different doctors who all came to the same conclusion - I had an ear infection. But after taking antibiotics for awhile, my symptoms weren't getting any better. In fact, it seemed like things were getting worse. I just felt so so so sick. We finally went to an ENT specialist who suggested I get a brain scan, just in case.

On Monday, April 18th, 2016, at 17 years old, I was told I had a brain tumor.

First Look at Tumor

The tumor itself was only about the size of a pencil eraser, but there was a cyst that had formed around it, and that was about the size of a ping-pong ball. The tumor and cyst were pushing on my brain stem which explained why I was experiencing all of those weird symptoms. In fact, because of how bad my brain stem was being smashed, the doctors were surprised I was even walking. I'm sure you can imagine how surprised they were when I told them I had just played in a softball tournament over the weekend.

Top: Normal Brain Scan

Bottom: My Brain Scan

On Tuesday, April 19th, 2016, I miraculously made it in to see one of the best neurosurgeons in the country.

On Wednesday, April 20th, 2016, I had a three hour MRI to check for more tumors based off a hunch from my doctor. Sure enough, there were multiple tumors in my neck and spine as well. They also discovered that I didn't have just one tumor in my brain, I had four.

On Thursday, April 21st, 2016, my softball team held a big fundraiser at the home game we had scheduled for that day. It seemed like the entire town came to our game, and it was one of the most amazing experiences.

On Friday, April 22nd, 2016, I had major brain surgery.
On Monday, April 25th, 2016, I had major surgery on my neck.
And two weeks later, on May 9th, 2016, I had major back surgery.

It wasn't until a few months after these three major surgeries that they did some blood tests and found out I have VHL.

On December 19th, 2016, I had to have my appendix removed because they thought there was as tumor in it. (There wasn't).
On June 26th, 2017, I had a neck fusion.
On October 20th, I had a back fusion.
I have had three laser eye treatments on my left eye to treat a tumor, and I'll have to have more until it's gone.

So, if you're keeping track, that's a grand total of six surgeries and three laser treatments in the past year and a half for me. I have grown so much and have learned so much because of these experiences, and that is why I'm starting this blog.

I want to tell my story to let you know that you aren't alone. I want to help others who are going through hard times which, lets be real, is everyone. I want to let everyone know of the miracles that have happened and the blessings that I've received during these times. But mostly, I want to share my testimony of the gospel. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and I would not have made it through everything so far if it wasn't for this church.

So, in conclusion, YAY for God and YAY for miracles and YAY for blogging!!

Aware of Angels @season.atwater.photography

❤ / Mickey