Comment by Loretta on 15 Jan 2010 at 12:09 pm

Karen,

Can you please post a picture of you with the tumor written about in the book? I am a student and thought it would be cool to see that? Thank you. You are phenomenal. Your courage and strength here and on facebook inspire me.

Loretta
, Jackson, TN

Dear Loretta,

My tumor was not that interesting. It covered part of one eye and protruded outward and was a non-appealing facial deformity. The tumor went though my eye socket and rested on the outer layer of my brain. It was removed just before my second birthday.

My parents often kept me hidden to avoid stares and questions. My parents also led me to believe that I would die at an early age because of the tumor. As an adult, I learned my tumor was benign, not life threatening, and would never have caused my death. It simply wasn’t nice to look at.

I have one picture of me at 16 months, before my tumor reached it’s full growth, that I will post on my Facebook profile.

Thank you for your curiosity. Please know that what’s important is not the fact that I had this facial deformity, caused by a benign tumor; it’s the fact that my parents chose to use my tumor as a way to control and abuse me. Throughout my childhood, I was led to believe my tumor and surgery caused all their financial woes and I owed them for that. That was abuse in itself.

Karen