'American Pickers' Star Reveals Tumor Diagnosis, Set to Undergo Surgery
Danielle Colby annoucned that she is having surgery after doctors found "a tumor in [her] face."
American Pickers star Danielle Colby has revealed that she's facing a serious health issue. In a new Instagram post, Colby announced that she's been diagnosed with a tumor and is set to undergo surgery. "Ok, let me explain.... Today is the big day," Colby began her post, featured alongside an image of herself with a tentacled object coming from her mouth.
"I've been experiencing incredible pain through my face, jaw, ear, neck, arm and hand on my right side. A severe case of Trigeminal neuralgia is the diagnosis and a tumor in my face is the culprit," Colby continued. "The last month has been excruciating but today I get my surgery to release me from this hell that visits in crashing waves of pain. After my surgery I will be posting my progress on my p a t r e o n. Have you ever heard of or experienced trigeminal neuralgia?"
She then concluded her post by sharing the Mayo Clinic's definition of her diagnosis: "Trigeminal neuralgia is a condition that causes painful sensations similar to an electric shock on one side of the face. This chronic pain condition affects the trigeminal nerve, which carries sensation from your face to your brain. If you have trigeminal neuralgia, even mild stimulation of your face – such as from brushing your teeth or putting on makeup – may trigger a jolt of excruciating pain. You may initially experience short, mild attacks. But trigeminal neuralgia can progress and cause longer, more-frequent bouts of searing pain. Trigeminal neuralgia affects women more often than men, and it's more likely to occur in people who are older than 50."
Colby has since received a lot of supportive comments from her fans, with one person commenting, "My dad had TN for years. He was on so many different medications, that he couldn't drive himself anywhere. It was very debilitating. After a few years of torture, he saw a neurosurgeon at the University of Michigan Hospital. The neurosurgeon wrapped a nerve near his brain stem in teflon. A year later, TN came back. He saw the neurosurgeon again and imaging revealed that the Teflon slipped. He had the same surgery again and they rewrapped the nerve. Hasn't had any issues since then. That was 2016. Don't give up!!"
Someone else offered, "I have trigeminal neuralgia from my MS attacking that nerve. It's awful and scary, especially when it causes paralysis too. I'm so sorry you're going through this and I hope your treatment bring you relief. Easy and quick healing, friend."