“I’m in love with my back. When I saw the x-rays I was so emotional.” Niasia first noticed her daughter Dwane was standing “funny” at a waterpark when she was 12-years-old. Niasia noted that her daughter was standing with one shoulder raised. “We looked at her back and it looked crooked,” recalled Niasia. “It just … Read more

After multiple opinions, Asa chose to come to UNC Health to see cerebrovascular and skull base neurosurgeon Dr. Carlos David for his brain tumor surgery. Asa struggled with cervical spine issues from playing high school football. He started seeing an orthopedic surgeon, and discovered after imaging that he had a meningioma, a benign brain tumor, … Read more

“I am happy that I am in the USA where I can meet good people and doctors, have good treatment, and good results.” Hanna is a Ukrainian refugee who came to the United States in September of 2022 as part of the United for Ukrainians program. Hanna was living in Florida when she started having … Read more

Janet felt sick for three years before finally receiving a proper diagnosis.  As a yoga instructor, Janet (name has been changed for privacy) had always maintained a healthy lifestyle. So when she  started to gain weight and noticed a drastic decrease in her energy levels, she knew something wasn’t right. Janet began to rapidly gain … Read more

Georgia high school football coach, Coach Anthony Lotti, struggled with fatigue and other symptoms that made it difficult to coach his team. After being diagnosed with a pituitary tumor, he traveled to UNC Health to have it removed by world-renowned pituitary tumor neurosurgeon, Dr. Nelson Oyesiku.

Coryzma experienced seizures for years before receiving a diagnosis. She described her seizures as feeling like déjà vu and at one point, Coryzma was having about five seizures a day, many times blacking out completely. Finally in seventh grade, Coryzma was diagnosed with epilepsy. Coryzma’s mother, Christina, chose to go to the UNC Epilepsy Center … Read more

One morning this summer, Mr. Sowers woke up to the room spinning with an indescribable headache. A week before this episode, Mr. Sowers had developed an extreme fear of going down the stairs—something that he had never experienced beforehand. With these confusing symptoms, Mr. Sowers called a few friends, and they drove him up to … Read more

Since she was 11 years old, Kristina Lollar had experienced migraines, yet it was not until the past year that it became more severe. This prompted Kristina to visit a neurologist who recommended they perform an updated MRI. When looking at the scans, they discovered a brain tumor wrapped around her brain stem. As the … Read more

Around three years ago, Ms. Godley had a pituitary tumor removed by Dr. Quinsey and Dr. Thorp, a surgeon from UNC’s Department of Otolaryngology. She had noticed that her wedding ring and shoes were fitting a bit tighter, common symptom of acromegaly. She also felt some dizziness getting in and out of bed. Though she … Read more

Around eight months ago, Ms. Thompson discovered that she had a benign brain tumor on her brainstem. Originally, she was very opposed to having surgery, though several different doctors told her it was necessary. It wasn’t until she met Dr. Quinsey that she finally felt comfortable moving forward with a procedure. She was drawn to … Read more