The Water Bearer Who Refused to Drown

A water bearer is the symbol attributed to Aquarius...the 11th sign of the Zodiac-my sign. According to lore, the water bearer not only pours out water, but also wisdom, mercy, and compassion.

I am the main character in this memoir, and the story technically begins in 2018 with the onset of 24/7 crippling anxiety. I detail my sifting, wading, struggling through misdiagnosis after misdiagnosis. Until September 17, 2021-the day that changed my life forever. While operating a hand mixer in my kitchen, I had a seizure. I blacked out as I fell backwards into the kitchen island and woke up covered in powdered sugar, cream cheese, and pumpkin. I was lying on my sofa when my partner of 7.5 years came back from the Post Office.

He drove me to the Urgent Care. They promptly sent me to the ER, where I had a CT scan. When the attending physician returned, he delivered five words that I never expected to hear: You have a brain tumor.

What follows are myriad physical, emotional, and spiritual traumas and miracles. And a resurrection of a buried faith, despite a yet-unknown outcome.