When I had just started my secondary schooling, in 2000, it was cut short when I had an MRI scan, to which they found a small brain tumour, a germinoma on my pituitary gland about the size of a golf ball.

"I was diagnosed with diabetes insipidus which is very uncommon"

a few years earlier due to a non-functioning pituitary gland. I was in hospital to have chemo for several weeks (one week in hospital, one week at home recovering which were alternating. I had a dozen sessions of radiotherapy.)

The rest of that year the school let me come in as much as I could, then start fresh the following year. My two last years in secondary and my final score were well below average due to tiredness and exhaustion creeping into me gradually as those years went on (which I partly blame on my cancer.)

The start of 2007 (two years from completing & in my final year at high school), I was in a bad state and was taken into hospital during the middle of one night to have an emergency MRI (from which they discovered the germinoma (tumour) had reformed in the same place, only difference was it was spread over the pineal gland and very nearly coming into contact with the brain stem & optic nerve (risk that I could end up blind.)

"I had chemo in ICU"

They did this so they could control my fluids due to my diabetes. I was in for 6 weeks, 1 week at home between each, after this more sessions of radiotherapy. During that time I could not stand due to vision problems & lack of balance so was in a wheelchair.

After my treatment I went to a rehabilitation centre and did yoga, which I'm standing, fit and doing gym.

To this day, while writing this, I'm still eternally grateful to be alive, well and healthy.