Sitting riverside on a beautiful sunlit September morning, Laura Melnick looked at me and said, “I am a walking miracle. My community needs some help and this is why it is my job to tell my story. We learn by hearing each other’s stories.”
Laura knows that without a CT Scan, she would not have known she had a brain tumor.
She explained that she had had two accidents in recent years which involved head injuries. Initially, she had fallen and hit her head hard on the ice; this was followed by a vehicle accident which severely shook her head and bruised her body. On both occasions she had declined having the paramedics or others take her to the hospital. “Knowing there was no CT Scanner at Kemptville District Hospital (KDH), what was the point?” she said.
In 2023, her second brain injury presented like a concussion. She started to feel better but then, in January 2024, began waking up with daily headaches. Concurrently, vision in her right eye was deteriorating. Laura and her doctor agreed that a CT Scan might solve the mystery of her ‘post concussion’ symptoms.
She waited four months for her appointment. On April 24, she went to the Montfort Hospital in Ottawa for the CT Scan.
On May 3 she learned that the CT Scan showed she had a brain tumour. A meningioma had developed in the menges, the soft tissue that protects the brain from the hard surface of the skull.
Four weeks later, on June 3, with evidence that the tumour was aggressively growing, she had neurosurgery. She was in the operating theatre for nearly eight hours.
Laura was told that the path back to feeling like her old self could be up to a year. She has made great progress since the surgery but there is still a long recovery road ahead.
Why did Laura reach out to share her story?
She said with emphasis, “CT Scans save lives! It saved me from further damage to my visual and cognitive capabilities. I might have complained earlier (to the doctor) knowing that a CT Scan was more easily available to me, in Kemptville.”
Laura continued, “I want people to understand the importance of a CT Scanner. What we cannot see with our eyes is informed by the Scanner’s imagery. Rarely is the problem determined without the imagery.” She added this plea, “Please do not dismiss a head injury and let your doctor truthfully know what is going on and how you are feeling.”
Laura said she is grateful to the neurosurgical team at the Civic Hospital who prioritized her problem, but she is “most grateful to her physicians in Kemptville for listening to my concerns and then moving quickly to help me!”
Joanne Mavis, KDH Foundation Executive Director, said, “Thank you, Laura for reaching out to the KDH Foundation and generously sharing your testimonial. Your experience fully supports why we need a CT Scanner here, close to home. It is an urgently needed diagnostic tool at Kemptville District Hospital.”
For more information and stories about the CT Scanner Crossroads Campaign and how you can donate, see our Campaign page.