Michael Strahan’s daughter Isabella has opened up about her agonizing recovery after undergoing brain surgery to remove a rare and fast-growing tumor.
The 19-year-old University of Southern California freshman was diagnosed with medulloblastoma in October after she began suffering from ‘excruciating headaches’ and was waking up vomiting every morning.
She underwent emergency surgery after she was diagnosed, followed by a ‘grueling month of rehab,’ which included re-learning how to walk.
In a series of videos posted a YouTube, the teenage daughter of Good Morning America host Michael Strahan detailed the brutal reality of the surgery.
Isabella Strahan (pictured) detailed her recovery after undergoing emergency brain surgery to remove a 4cm tumor
The teenager had to undergo a month of rehab in the hospital, even having to re-learn how to walk in the wake of her surgery.
‘It’s been rough, it’s been challenging and it’s been very hard, but I know I’ll get through it,’ Isabella said in a YouTube video.
The budding model went on to describe some of the side effects she experienced after the surgery, which saw using a walker and a wheelchair to get around in the wake of having the 4cm tumor removed.
The college student said she was also very emotional following the surgery, which she put down to the steroids she was taking, and would ‘bawl’ whenever she met someone new.
Isabella also pointed out she’s been in New York recovering from her surgery for longer than she was at college, which was 68 days.
‘I’ll be back,’ she assured viewers. ‘Just taking a pause.’
The 19-year-old also had to undergo the egg freezing process, as the radiation and chemotherapy can effect her fertility.
‘That was not fun for me,’ she admitted. ‘I am not a big needle person so this whole experience… I’ve gotten used to my blood and IVs but shots? That was rough.
‘Basically [it] was three shots in my stomach, hurt so bad, that was every day for maybe a week.’
Isabella appeared on Good Morning America last week with her father Michael, revealing her devastating diagnosis
The college freshman said she was looking forward to going back to college, joking she’s even jealous of her twin sister, Sophia, sitting her finals
The 19-year-old also had to undergo the egg freezing process, as the radiation and chemotherapy can effect her fertility (pictured with her twin sister, Sophia, in hospital)
The teen then underwent her egg retrieval on Thanksgiving day – explaining that she went home after the procedure, ‘slept for six or seven hours’ then got up and celebrated the holiday surrounded by her family.
Isabella started radiation treatment after Thanksgiving, and a week after she started she decided to shave her head.
‘So I cut my hair probably I would say like the end of the second week,’ she recalled, adding it was around ‘4am’ when she decided to get rid of it all, joking that she went through a ‘mid-life crisis’.
‘It started to thin and just kind of fall out… I couldn’t even like look at myself because of just worse than probably not having hair.’
‘It’s definitely sad,’ she continued, adding she had more or less been growing it for 18 years.
‘Because [I] don’t really cut my hair.’
Isabella said she had a wig, but was more comfortable without it.
‘It’s just not my hair,’ she said simply. ‘It does looks really similar [though].’
Despite facing six months of chemotherapy, which she will undergo at Duke University where her twin sister, Sophia, is studying, Isabella is positive about what is ahead – saying it’s nice to have homecooked meals and be around her dogs.
Isabella started radiation treatment after Thanksgiving, and a week after she started she decided to shave her hair
Isabella is positive about what is ahead – saying it’s nice to have homecooked meals and be around her dogs. She is pictured here at Thanksgiving with Michael and Sophia
The college student admitted she was excited about returning to normal life eventually.
‘Like I can’t really go to school right now, obviously, and [it’s crazy] how much I wish I [could] take her [Sophia’s] final exam or like just go back to school,’ she said wistfully. ‘But that will change.’
Isabella first revealed her diagnosis to the world in a Good Morning America segment last week, where she appeared with her father, Michael.
Isabella’s doctor Dr. David Ashley also appeared on GMA, explaining although the type of tumor was ‘incredibly rare’ – with fewer than 10 cases a year in patients her age – her prognosis was good.
‘There are four types of medulloblastoma, and Isabella has what’s known as a WNT subtype of this,’ Dr Ashley explained on GMA.
‘Patients have 90 per cent plus survival rates beyond five years and the majority are completely cured.
‘With Isabella, I’m very optimistic that her outcome will be terrific. She is doing fabulously.’