Why I gave my Glioma a Human Name

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On the day I learnt my Brain Tumour (BT) was stable, I came away feeling depressed. That day was something to be celebrated, but it was only the champagne that followed that made me feel more relaxed. I couldn't understand why I was so upset when something so positive in my journey was happening... then a study from when I was on a placement in Anaesthetics at Great Ormond Street sprung to mind.

Did you know that children feel a heightened sense of pain when you literally say the word “pain”around them? Once you've said it, they wind themselves up something silly, because all they hear in their audio loop is “pain pain pain pain pain”. 

The imagination is the single most powerful tool that we possess in healing, and this has been something reiterated throughout my journey: my Spiritual Healer Anna Parkinson has even healed her own BT using her imagination as a key tool. 

I came to realise that the reason I continuously feel so upset on the day of my scans is because I have the words “Brain Tumour, prognosis, Grade 2, incurable etc...” stuck in my audio loop. I sit there any hear it over and over again all day long, reminding me of the monumental twist that my life has taken, and the sadness that ensued when you first heard those words. 

Obviously, I am aware that those are medical terms, and on the day of the scan results they're almost unavoidable. But is it possible that I could I make light of such an awful situation for everyone’s sake? I realised that the answer was in personifying my BT, and so 'Keith’ was born. 

Keith's a pretty normal guy, nobody calls their babies Keith anymore. He kind of just sits there in my brain not doing much; probably watching TV with a beer most of the time. Sometimes when I have a headache it's because I'm feeling his hangovers. I've never met a bad person called Keith.

Truly, once we stop hearing the trigger words on a daily occurrence then the annoyance of feeling over-reminded stops. Now I try and only refer to my BT as Keith in the home setting. In case you were wondering, yes my partner and my parents call it Keith too; and it really helps. You also have the right to ask your Consulting team to call your BT by its human name- no kidding. 




So I ask all of you now: what have you called your BT and why? You can read an article Here about Olympic Rower Zoe De Toledo who named her BT "Steve". 
By 2020 I am aiming to have raised £5000 for The Brain Tumour Charity to help #FindACureSooner and ensure continued support and readily available resources for patients and families of those who have Brain Tumours. Please click on the link and donate, if all of my readers donated £1 I would have met my target already! https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/moneyforbrains

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