In the video: Prof. Amichai Meirovich on the brain metastases (edited by: Dina Mahfuts)
Jamie Connolly always felt that his 1.25m height as a teenager was simply because he was a late developer - but when he suffered a seizure while playing a video game aged 16, he discovered the more startling reason behind his short stature.
A slow-growing tumor formed in Jamie's brain, halting his development.
MRI scans on Jamie's brain revealed a mass, and he was taken into surgery in 2004.
The amazing part is that in just a few months he grew 45 cm (!). Since then, the 35-year-old has undergone three more rounds of major surgeries, and now stands at 1.74 meters tall. A small part of the tumor still remains in his brain, leaving him with problems Evidence, but that didn't stop him from living a normal life.
"I've always been small, but I never imagined it was because of a brain tumor. I later found out that the tumor had grown in a part of my brain that is responsible for important functions, including development and growth," Jamie said.
"Despite multiple surgeries to remove the tumor it left me with changes in my vision, and as a result I have to wear glasses."
He added that part of the tumor was still there because its complete removal could have left him paralyzed.
Jamie still comes to the hospital today for regular scans to monitor the remaining tumor in his brain, and he was diagnosed with a low-grade astrocytoma.
It is a cancerous brain tumor that grows at a slow rate and may invade nearby tissues to become a tumor of a higher degree of malignancy.
"The effects of a brain tumor can often cause changes in personality, selective memory loss and growth problems. Brain tumors near the pituitary gland can cause extreme changes in physical size, or delays in puberty. This is due to the tumor affecting the levels of hormones that the gland produces," wrote the doctors of G 'Yamy.
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