Kayla Krahn remembers her first run after surgery at Health Sciences Centre to remove a brain tumour in July 2022.
“I remember running down Highway 12. I must have the dorkiest grin on my face,” says Steinbach resident and accomplished long-distance runner.
Krahn had been getting migraine headaches accompanied by aura symptoms. She wasn’t too concerned because migraines run in her family. But the migraines became more frequent, and her vision became increasingly impaired. Her symptoms worsened and included dizziness and numbness on one side of her body. So, she went to her GP, then an optometrist, then an ophthalmologist. The ophthalmologist suggested she go to the Emergency Department at HSC because there was fluid at the back of her brain pushing on the optic nerves.
“HSC took a CT scan and the doctor knelt down beside me,” recalls Krahn.
“He said ‘you can’t go home; we found a large mass in your brain.’”
She met with neurosurgeon Dr. Patrick McDonald who explained that her tumour was the size of a Granny Smith apple and it had to be removed. Krahn didn’t know at the time, but her surgeon would be using the StealthStation S8 Surgical Navigation System, funded by donors to the HSC Foundation’s Operation Excellence campaign. The unit has been described as a “GPS for the brain” and it allows surgeons to work with maximum precision.
The delicate surgery lasted 12 hours and Krahn was able to be discharged after just five days. The pathology report confirmed that she had a large, grade two, non-malignant tumour. By spring 2023, Krahn started participating in long endurance runs again.
Kayla Krahn will require regular monitoring for the rest of her life, but she is feeling good, feeling strong, and feeling grateful for Dr. McDonald’s expertise, the care she received at HSC, and for HSC Foundation donors.
To learn about Operation Excellence and to donate, visit OperationExcellence.ca.