Jacksonville, Fl — Every Friday morning Jacksonville’s Morning News celebrates good news in Jacksonville by featuring the people who have been treated at UF Health Proton Therapy Institute over the last 20 years.
Allana Prosser lives in the West Midlands, England. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor (craniopharyngioma) in 2015.
At 16, her optometrist found a mass behind her eye and urged her to go to the hospital.
“I was admitted straight to the hospital and the next day I was in for my first surgery that was to remove the fluid on the brain. And then a week later I had a second surgery which was to remove as much of the tumor as they could,” Prosser said.
The tumor shrank from the size of a large grapefruit to a small orange. But that wasn’t the end of her journey.
Doctors said she would come out of surgery likely not knowing who her family is, and that she could be completely brain damaged. Luckily that wasn’t the case.
But she needed radiation and, at the time, there were no options for proton therapy in London. That’s when her family learned of the UF Health Proton Therapy Institute.
Allana, her mother, and her 1-year-old sister arrived in early January 2016 to begin the weekslong treatment.
“I always called it my radiation vacation,” Prosser said as she described a trip to Disney World, the beach and more.
Prosser vividly remembers the welcoming environment at the Institute, as well as the cutting-edge technology and the mask that held her still.
“I keep it. We’ve just moved recently. I spray painted mine pink and I’m planning on putting that on the wall and putting lot of flowers on it and things," she said.
Prosser met her best friends during her time in Jacksonville. They live in other areas of the United Kingdom, showing the international reach of UF Health Proton Therapy Institute.
After her final treatment Allana, her friends, doctors, mom, sister, and grandparents were there to watch her ring Aud’s Chime, which she describes as a magical sound and experience.
Hear the full story from Jacksonville’s Morning News:
▶ Listen to Jacksonville’s Morning News Interviews
[ Read more local news from WOKV ]
Click here to download our free news, weather and traffic app. And click here to subscribe to our daily 3 Big Things newsletter.