I've been there! (Taking out "the bubble" through my nose part, at least. I was out of school by then.) So it turns out little Nile's tumor was not quite a pituitary tumor, but the surgery was the same. Can you imagine how tiny and delicate the passageway for the operation must have been.
I sent a photo of the bus stop ad to someone I had met just the day before- I was at my friend's niece's birthday party, and my friend's sister was like, "Hey you and this guy should talk, I think you had the same thing, your pituitary operation?" Turns out he had a pituitary tumor removed just three weeks ago, and wanted to know what the rest of his recovery would be like. The doctors don't think his tumor was actively secreting any hormones (more test results pending), so he doesn't have acromegaly but we still had that kindred experience of getting diagnosed, facing surgery, surgery, and recovery. It was strange to recall a time that was almost a whole decade ago! I was such a different person, so much has happened since then, and I hadn't even talked about my experience in detail in a while. It was great to hear the similarities in our stories (for example we were both diagnosed because of vision symptoms, peripheral vision loss) and it also felt good to represent long-term recovery to him - like, "Yes, you will have a (semi) normal life again! I am proof!" He's my new "Brain Bubble Buddy!"
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