After a bout of sudden severe, mind-numbing headaches, 15-year-old Yasmyn Elliott was forced to undergo an emergency surgery which would alter the course of her life.
Propelled by that experience, the avid footballer, who once dreamed of a career in sports, is now set to embark on a career path to become a paediatric neurologist after going under the knife in March 2021 to remove a brain lesion.
Elliott, now 19, said her time on the paediatric ward of the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Florida and the “amazing” skill of her doctor who saved her life has inspired her to want to give back.
“I want to help others like me and make them know that ‘you’re not alone,’ and I can relate a hundred percent,” she said.
Today, the teen, who has been working at the Pines as a caregiver, is planning to pursue her dream of a medical career.
Elliott will be attending Sheridan Technical College in Hollywood, Miami, next year to pursue her Medical Assistant Certification.
The teen specifically chose the college as she will be able to complete her practical experience at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital where she underwent her surgery.
Elliott’s journey has been one fuelled by personal strength and resilience.
Though it has been more than three years since her surgery, the teen, who was in Year 11 at Cayman Prep at the time, said it still haunts her even today.
It started with a headache
The memories of the sudden onset of her symptoms and the intervening period of medical challenges remain fresh in Elliott’s mind.
“It all started at a football match,” she recalled. “I was watching my team [Scholars] play. I had the worst headache that night. I took a couple painkillers for it and it did not go away.”
Elliott told her mother, Tamara Ebanks, something was not right; the headache was getting worse even after she took medication.
She said when they got home she tried to sleep, but she woke up throwing up and that’s when she had her first seizure.
“She was completely unconscious. Her eyes were open, but there was no response from Yasmyn. She wouldn’t shift her gaze, she wouldn’t lift her arms. They had to literally come and put her into the bed,” Ebanks said.
She called 911 and an ambulance was dispatched.
She said while they were on the way to the hospital, Elliott suffered another seizure, and then a third when they got to George Town Hospital.
Ebanks recalls feeling helpless, seeing her daughter in that condition.
“I couldn’t help my child. My responsibility as a parent is to protect her and I couldn’t that night. I couldn’t help. When she had the last seizure, I called out to the HSA staff, who were fantastic, and they gave her anti-seizure medication,” Ebanks said.
The medication triggered an allergic reaction that forced the teen out of her unconscious state.
“I woke up out of it itching all over … I was, like, ‘I’m itching, I’m itching … Mom, I’m itching all over,” Elliott said.
She said she had no memory of the seizures or how she came to be at the hospital at that time.
Overseas support
The teen was later transported to Health City hospital in East End where doctors ordered an MRI.
Ebanks said the results from the scan revealed a “massive” lesion covering the frontal lobe of Elliott’s brain.
It was decided to send her by air ambulance to the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Florida for further tests.
There, doctors decided to do a craniotomy to see if the lesion was cancerous.
Ebanks said the doctors could not say what caused the lesion, but they assured her that they would take care of her daughter.
After eight hours of surgery, Ebanks said, the doctors removed the lesion that was triggering the seizures and sent samples away for testing.
Elliott said, going into the surgery, she had not been scared at all, “because I have faith, I’m a Christian,” and she believed “everything was gonna end up OK”.
Elliot made a full and speedy recovery after the surgery, much to the delight of her family.
“I can fondly remember my brother’s birthday was March 19 and she was able to video call him here in Cayman and tell him happy birthday. It was amazing. Yasmyn actually recovered so quickly after brain surgery. We were very fortunate. We had a really good team at Joe DiMaggio,” Ebanks added.
Eye-opening stay on children’s ward
Elliott recalled being on the paediatric ward at the hospital and seeing kids more ill than her.
“I was the healthiest on the ward,” she said. “So, when I was able to walk around … I was stable … I went to check on them and just [be] like a friend to talk to,” she said.
She said the experience changed her whole life, and she worried that she would not be able to play football nor graduate.
However, her recovery went so well that she was cleared to play within weeks.
Following her experience, Elliott says those suffering with headaches should get themselves checked out.
Ebanks said the doctors believed her athleticism and fitness played a big part in her daughter being able to bounce back so quickly. Two days after her surgery, she was kicking a football on the ward.
Cayman Prep teacher Carrie Bee, who has been supportive of Elliott throughout her journey, encouraged her to come forward and share her story.
“Though Yasmyn wasn’t in my class, she was one of ‘my kids’ when she was part of the Year 6 cohort at Prep, and I am extremely proud of the resilient young woman she has grown into. I prayed for her during her life-altering time and wanted to support her in telling her story when she felt ready to do so,” Bee told the Compass.
The teen, who had to undergo some physiotherapy after her brain surgery, said she decided to come forward and share her story so others like her will know they are not alone.
“Don’t be afraid. Trust the doctors, you’re in good hands. And if you’re religious, a Christian like me, don’t fear, the Lord is with you,” she said.
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