"I had an olfactory groove meningioma. It was an incidental finding, I had a CT scan for a jaw cyst which also showed my brain tumor. My friend, a radiologist, was my first call. After getting an MRI, he called me on a Saturday to put me in touch with a neurosurgeon in Atlanta, but said he also wanted me to call Dr. Sekula in New York. I emailed Dr. Sekula on Sunday with my images and he emailed me right back.
Everyone else I had spoken to said the meningioma had to be taken out with the swelling and edema and planned to do the zipper from ear to ear. I thought these approaches were very invasive and was having a hard time with the thought of peeling off that much of my forehead, carving through that much bone for a 3 cm tumor. My friend told me how Dr. Sekula does a supraorbital approach and I thought, ‘good lord let me look into this!” The rest is history, I couldn't get in for an appointment fast enough. Dr. Sekula and I spoke on a Thursday where he and Caroline suggested I think about it overnight. I thought about it for 10 minutes, then emailed Caroline asking for his next availability. A little under two weeks later, I was in surgery.
Now, I am able to walk all around Atlanta and no longer feel the overwhelming need to put my head down and sleep. I had no idea that these meningiomas are not uncommon, that they aren’t a death sentence, and you don't have to get your whole head cut open--you can go in through the eyebrow. A lot of doctors don’t do the supraorbital, which is ok! I am just very lucky and grateful that I was led to you and we could go that route."