Ebony Thomas, a second-year student at Wilfrid Laurier University, was diagnosed with a tumor in her brain that pushes on her pituitary gland this past March.
Fortunately, the tumor is not fatal, but there’s a long road ahead of Ebony in determining whether she needs surgery or not. The diagnosis comes after years of problematic symptoms.
“We've been waiting for about 10 months to a year for the diagnosis,” said Jamie Thomas, Ebony’s mother.
“It's ever since I can remember, ever since she was (about) 15. She would get these really bad headaches and she always had problems with her menstrual cycle. So it was always super irregular."
“(I) kind of feel helpless as a mother. Like, there's nothing I could do to fix it.”
The entire process has been a roller coaster, Jamie said.
The young woman was born and raised in Sudbury, so being away from her family has been tough on her.
“Especially for her, since she's so far away as well,” Jamie said.
“She doesn't have family out there (in Waterloo). Like, we're all pretty much located in Sudbury here. We've been going over there pretty much every other weekend just to make sure she's okay. But you know, it's hard.
“Especially her trying to finish up her exams, because that's important to her. She wants to make sure that she finishes her schooling.”
Ebony is currently working full-time as an RA (resident assistant) at Laurier, as well as being a full-time student amid the diagnosis of her brain tumor. The timing of it all during her exam season has put the second-year student in a lot of stress.
“She was planning on working throughout the whole summer to pay for her tuition,” Jamie said. “But unfortunately, we're not certain if she's going to be able to work throughout the summer at all.”
The uncertainty of whether she would need surgery looms over Ebony, as well as financial stress of paying off her school debt.
That’s why Jamie has set up a GoFundMe page for Ebony to ease the workload off of Ebony as she embarks on her new medical journey.
To support Ebony, please visit the GoFundMe page here.
