Calgarian ‘hopeful’ after U.S. operation
Brain surgery cost woman $110,000
Kristina Waldmann is looking forward to going back to school, getting a part-time job, and beginning to volunteer again.
Just thinking about the future, let alone making plans or being excited for what’s down the line, is something the 27-year-old has long avoided.
But six weeks after travelling south for pricey out-of-pocket brain surgery in Houston, Texas, and spending three weeks in the country recovering, Waldmann says she has a new outlook on life.
“I didn’t feel like I was in a livable life before. Now I’m actually hopeful about the future. I’m very excited,” she said.
After suffering from chronic headaches for years, an MRI found a cystic tumour in the pea-sized pineal gland of Waldmann’s brain three years ago.
In a February interview with the Calgary Herald, Waldmann said the tumour left her with debilitating symptoms, including pain, headaches, migraines, visual impairment, nausea and dizziness, and forced her to quit working, studying at the University of Calgary, and volunteering.
The young woman said she visited countless specialists and doctors, before making the difficult, and incredibly costly, decision to head across the border for treatment that wasn’t covered by Alberta Health. With flights and accommodations, the surgery totalled $110,000.
“I tried everything possible before doing the surgery,” she said.
Waldmann applied to Alberta’s Out-of-Country Health Services Committee, which is composed of doctors, for funding, but was declined because they said her symptoms didn’t warrant it and the surgery was a risk.
Before entering the three-hour surgery preformed by neurosurgeon Dong Kim in Houston on March 18, Waldmann was nervous the operation wouldn’t work, and she wondered if her symptoms would get worse when she woke up.
But post-surgery, she felt different immediately.
“I noticed it as soon as I was awake enough from surgery. I remember turning towards my mom and telling her the visual symptoms were gone. I was so shocked they were gone,” she said.
“It was a huge relief. I knew we made the right decision ... It wasn’t an easy decision to make.”
After nearly three weeks recovering at a long-term rental in Houston, Waldmann flew home, where she’s been slowly getting back into her pre-tumour life. She’s been doing things she hasn’t enjoyed for years, including reading and exercising.
“I’m excited to finally go back to work, start volunteering, and start contributing back to society again,” she said.
Friends, family, and strangers, have rallied around Waldmann and the $110,000 tab.
Her parents have remortgaged their home, and an online fundraiser has already brought in nearly $60,000.