Name
Levi Olson

Brain Tumor Type
Craniopharyngioma

Date of Diagnosis
2012

Participant Group
Brain Tumor Survivor / 13 - 20 Years of age

Category
Drawing/Painting/Printmaking/Chalk Art

Artist Statement (include type of art, techniques & materials used, what it means to you)
This painting is very special to me because it is of the northern lights or Aurora Borealis in Norway where I have extended family. As someone who had my first tumor at age 5, I have depended on support from my family throughout my life.

Artist Bio: Tell Us Your Story
My name is Levi I am 17 years old and a two-time brain tumor survivor. At age 5, I was diagnosed with a large craniopharyngioma on 5/7/12. It was successfully removed through my nose (endoscopic endonasal approach) on 6/11/12 at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh (CHP). The tumor destroyed my pituitary gland, so for the last 10 years, I have been taking a multitude of different meds every day to compensate for the missing hormones. They allow me to live a normal life despite having adrenal insufficiency and diabetes insipidus.

In 2017 I was hospitalized at Dell Children’s Hospital of Austin with many challenging physical symptoms that caused me to miss most of the spring semester. I was eventually diagnosed with severe anxiety. With the help of my therapist and anxiety medications, I was able to recover fairly well that year. Unfortunately, in the winter of 2018, strong physical symptoms returned including constant headaches and many months of missed school. After a terrible 6 months, I entered a 3-week in-patient pediatric pain program at the Cleveland Clinic. That program helped me learn to manage my anxiety in ways that are still useful to me today.

In June 2019 a recurrence of the craniopharyngioma was discovered through my annual MRI. We again made the trip from my home in Austin, Texas to CHP and the tumor was removed on 7/12/19 by the same surgical team. I will always be grateful to the surgeons, doctors, nurses, and medical staff who have taken care of me over the years.