Isabella Strahan, the daughter of Michael Strahan, is displaying her sensitivity as she begins chemotherapy after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.
The 19-year-old model and student released the sixth video in her YouTube series on Wednesday. In it, she chronicles her health journey following emergency surgery to remove a massive medulloblastoma, a kind of malignant tumour, from her cerebellum last October.
Isabella is shown in the vlog lying in bed at the Duke University Hospital Cancer Centre in North Carolina, getting ready for surgery to implant her chemotherapy port. To enable medical professionals to take blood and administer therapies without the need for a needle poke, the device will be surgically installed and connected to a vein in her upper chest region.
Isabella cynically remarked, “So I’m getting my port placed today, which is a device that goes on your chest for administering chemo, getting my blood drawn, all that fun stuff.” “I’m not thrilled,”
After stating that getting an IV is “not my fav” and “something I don’t want to do,” the college student gets ready to receive one. Before the doctors put the needle, she politely requested a countdown while inhaling deeply and pressing a stress ball.
“It wasn’t too painful,” she remarked, clearly squinting from the needle’s ache.
Isabella had to repeat the entire procedure since her IV didn’t stay in.
She explained, “They had to bring in an ultrasound to see where my veins are because sometimes it’s hard to find them.” “Happy that’s over.”
Then, as Isabella was ready for additional exams and treatment, her vlog included her having a break throughout the day and playing cards with her aunt. She continued to grin while explaining that it has been a challenging day.
“I’m awaiting a renal examination. “I’m killing time because it’s blood draws at specific times,” she said.
“Tough day,” she went on. “This renal problem was treated with an IV; never fun. Not fun at all recovering after my port surgery. There’s a wire in my chest now. My body was injected with radioactive dye, and I had to have blood drawn, an EKG, more blood drawn, and an MRI after that. Thus, the day is busy.
Isabella informed her mother that she was experiencing severe neck pain and soreness in her chest as a result of the port installation procedure.
In the video, she stated, “Not the most fun.”
Together with her father, Isabella initially disclosed her condition during a programme on Good Morning America. She began having migraines during her freshman year at the University of Southern California, which she initially thought to be vertigo. She was diagnosed with the illness in October.
The adolescent admitted to Robin Roberts, “I definitely noticed headaches, nausea, and couldn’t walk straight.” Her condition deteriorated on October 25, the morning she woke up “throwing up blood.” Her relatives urged her to get medical help right away.
Isabella’s 4-centimeter tumour, the size of a golf ball, had grown rapidly, the doctors found, in the back of her brain. On October 27, one day before her 19th birthday, she had emergency surgery at Cedars-Sinai to remove the lump.
After her operation, Isabella had a month-long recuperation period in addition to multiple rounds of radiation therapy. She informed the 63-year-old cancer sufferer Roberts, “I got to ring the bell yesterday.” “It was excellent. It was really thrilling because the thirty sessions spanned six weeks.”
Since then, she has been sharing her story on her YouTube channel, which she launched with the intention of raising money for Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Centre.
“It has been difficult to keep it quiet for the past two months or so. Isabella stated on GMA, “It’s difficult to always keep in, so I don’t want to hide it anymore.” “I hope to just kind of be a voice, and be [someone] who maybe [those who] are going through chemotherapy or radiation can look at.”
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