While most recent graduates in their mid-twenties are stressing about entering an increasingly competitive job market, a young New South Wales woman is trying to raise money to pay for brain surgery.
As she sat her final exam for her Masters degree in June, Courtney Keady says her head was throbbing.
The 26-year-old had been experiencing splitting headaches and near-constant nausea for months but says she put it down as a reaction to the pressure of her last year of study.
“I’ve been having problems with my vision for about a year,” she told Mamamia.
“I just thought it was anxiety with uni and I needed glasses.
“I was sitting my last exam and had one of the bad headaches. I was just thinking, ‘I’ve got to get through this exam and I’ll go to the doctor on Monday.”
Courtney with her parents at her graduation. Source: Supplied
An MRI revealed a 12mm cyst on the pineal gland in the middle of Courtney's brain, "roughly two-and-a-half times the size of the gland it's on," she said.
The pineal produces melatonin, a serotonin derived hormone which controls sleep patterns.
While her doctor told her it was nothing to worry about, the debilitating symptoms persisted. She pushed to have further tests, which she said revealed unidentified masses on the cyst.
A month after her graduation, Courtney went to see a neurosurgeon who told her her case was "too complex" to operate on.
"I'm in bed most days. I'm not able to drive at the moment. I have headaches. I want to vomit all day every day. With the doctors we’ve ruled out medication-induced nausea. My focus and memory, my cognition has declined a lot. I repeat myself a lot, I’m tired," she said, adding she had no option but to move back into her parents' Crookwell home.
Courtney's symptoms have made it difficult for her to leave the house. Source: Supplied
"I'm not able to work. I've had to move home with mum and dad. I've been diagnosed with depression… it's gotten worse," she said.
Last week, after seeing a series of specialists, she sent her scans to Professor Charlie Teo, an internationally renowned neurosurgeon and a pioneer in keyhole surgical techniques for brain cancer treatment.
"His staff called me within a day and a half of receiving my scans and booked me in to discuss operating on the tumour," Courtney explained on a GoFundMe page that has now been set up to pay for the surgery, which has been costed at around $110,000 in total — including $50,000 up front.
People have already donated more than $13,000.
"It's people that we know, people that we don’t, people that I went to school with that I haven’t seen in ten years. It's just been an amazing outpouring on support," she said.
Courtney will see Prof Teo on November 15 and — in addition to the GoFundMe page — her family have set up a number of fundraising events to try to get her there.
Top Comments
is there any evidence to prove that this doctor is the only neurosurgeon skilled to do this surgery? could an alternative explanation be that he is the only one willing to do many surgeries that other neurosurgeons deem inappropriate? i am generally wary when doctors only work in the private system and don't consult at public hospitals where they would be held accountable by their colleagues and strict guidelines that ensist on ethical and evidenced based care.
Hi Sadie, on 28 August 2017 I had the same surgery with Charlie Teo that Courtney is in desperate need of. Unfortunately from what I understand Charlie Teo has been pushed out of the public sector. Charlie Teo offers surgeries that many other surgeons are not skilled to do and so they say it is inoperable! As a patient I saw this first hand as one doctor advised me that Charlie Teo's reputation out way his talents! Charlie Teo has given me my life back! He is an amazing surgeon. Courtney's Cyst is smack bang in the middle of her brain and as such it is a difficult and dangerous surgery. I would not have trusted anyone other than Charlie to perform this Op. I like Courtney had debilitating headaches, blurred vision, vomiting every few days, muscle spams and fatigue, these have now all gone since surgery. Prof Charlie Teo is one of the few Dr's researching the effects of these Cysts. Best Wishes Courtney you will be in safe hands.
Please know I am commenting from the perspective of a seriously 20 something year old...a few things here are slightly amiss. The first is that on her Go Fund Me page, Courtney is attempting to raise $110,000. She said the surgery will cost $90,000. She said she also wants funds for post op recovery in Sydney, which she said will be about a week. Let's say, for a nice hotel, that's about $1000. That leaves $19,000 that she hasn't clearly stated a need for. Secondly is that she is seeing Dr. Teo in November and he will 'probably operate the next day'. As someone who has been seriously ill a decade, I am yet to meet any surgeon who will operate the day after an appointment unless it's of course an emergency. This isn't an emergency case. Dr. Teo is thought to be the single best neurosurgeon in the world, and is booked out accordingly (also for everyone questioning Dr. Teo's motives with only operating in private hospitals; he does a minimum four months a year of pro bono neurosurgical work in developing countries). I'm certainly not suggesting that Courtney isn't unwell, or that she doesn't need the surgery. But what I AM suggesting, from someone the same age that's been doing this for ten years; she isn't being transparent about the true process of these treatments/surgeries.
i also found the pricing very confusing and i am also shocked that any surgeon would operate the day after reviewing a non-urgent case. although it may be that there was a cancellation on his surgical list and courtney snapped it up hoping to avoid a lengthy wait. i am willing to give courtney the benefit of doubt on these matters. however, the reason i feel unable to donate yet is that i am not convinced anyone requiring an appropriate surgical procedure in australia needs to pay for it. no evidence has been provided to demonstrate the need for her to use this particular doctor. there doesnt seem to be any proof probided to suggest that he is more skilled than other neurosurgeons at this surgery. also, courtney's go fund me page says her other doctors doubt the cyst is the root of her symptoms, so that suggests they don't want to operate because they think it's unnecessary (as opposed to difficult). i'm afraid i will need more info before i can help. it would be good if mamamia could follow up on these concerns as the story seems a but one sided and they don't seem to have done ang actual fact checking.
Hi Willow.
We had to wait 3 weeks to see Dr Teo. He saw her one day, and operated the very next morning as it was life threatening.
The week post -op isn't spent in a hotel. If you have just had major brain surgery, you don't just go home the next day. You need to recover in hospital, a good part of it was in ICU for my daughter.
Although my daughter had a different type of brain tumour, the figures that Courtney is quoting, from experience, sound very accurate.
As far as urgency goes, I would say that would be up to Dr Teo to decide.
An MRI would have been sent to him from Courtney's treating doctors, as was my daughter's.
I wish Courtney all the very best. Xoxoxo