Etwatwa resident beats brain tumour
He encourages others who may be going through a similar experience not to give up and to always put God first.
Etwatwa resident Thuso Masemola now cherishes every moment of being alive after beating brain tumour.
The 28-year-old was diagnosed with an interventricular mass in his left lateral ventricle, adjacent to the septum pellucidium (brain tumour) in June 2018.
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On June 19, 2018, Masemola experienced a terrible headache; he couldn’t eat and was vomiting.
He said the next morning, he went to a nearby medical specialist who gave him medication. He thought it would pass and he just needed to sleep it off.
However, he was still not feeling well the next day, that’s when he decided to go to hospital and he was admitted in hospital at Kempton Park on June 20, and the scans revealed that he had brain tumour.
On June 25, 2018, he was then operated and was in intensive care unit (ICU) for three weeks.
The youngster said the doctors removed some parts of the tumour and has been going for radiation after every six months for check-ups. The tumour hasn’t grown. At the moment, the doctors don’t see any signs of it coming back.
“Through this journey, I’ve learnt to be patient about certain things, especially the healing process. Taking rehabilitation seriously, eating what I’m told to eat and just following the doctor’s orders,” he said.
“The diagnoses made me cautious about my health and my fitness.”
Masemola said he has also stopped smoking even though he thought he never would anytime soon.
“When I came out of ICU it was difficult because I couldn’t remember anything, it was like I had lost my mind for years but I slowly remembered things bit by bit.
“There was a point when I even forgot that I have a daughter, Oratile, but my family reminded me about her, that’s when I stopped crying and pulled myself together for her sake,” he said.
“I told myself I had so much to live for instead of giving up now. I went to a rehabilitation centre but I didn’t stay long there because of an infection that caused me to be re-admitted to a hospital in Pretoria where the ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt was removed.”
He said in October 2018, he went to a rehabilitation centre in Northmead to continue with his rehab.
“I was happy to be closer to home, and it kept me pushing harder to be discharged. I was then discharged on December 5, 2018 after spending about six months going to hospitals and rehabs.”
The Tshwane University of Technology graduate said he is grateful for the support he received from his family, especially his mother, Betty, his brother, Thabiso, his sister, Adelaide, his girlfriend, Khanyisile Khoza, friends, colleagues and the Rynmed rehabilitation Centre team.
Masemola recently returned to work, after one year and eight months of healing.
He encourages others who may be going through a similar experience not to give up and to always put God first.
“Don’t forget about the things you want to achieve, and continue pursuing them. Go to church when you get a chance to thank God for always protecting you, take your medication and talk when you’re not okay,” he said.
