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Barbara Conaway Seemingly out of nowhere, Barbara Conaway experienced the onset of a bizarre headache and garbled speech—uncharacteristic of the normally well-spoken and healthy then 53-year-old. Barbara immediately went to see her primary care physician who ordered an MRI. The images revealed a meningioma—a benign brain tumor. After researching neurosurgeons in Tucson, Conaway instead decided to call Barrow Neurological Institute, where she met with Robert Spetzler, MD. “The fear and anxiety I was going through after being diagnosed, once I met Dr. Spetzler, I had absolutely no doubt that he was the doctor for me,” she says. “He told me my treatment options were ‘surgery, surgery or surgery,’ so I chose surgery.” Her tumor was removed in September of 2010. “Going in was scary, but as soon as I woke up, I had such a euphoric feeling. I was surrounded by family, and it was wonderful to have that behind me.” Back home in Tucson just a couple weeks later, Conaway found it difficult to read, and her speech was garbled again. She went to a local hospital where an infection was misdiagnosed; doctors there encouraged her to return to Barrow. “Once back at Barrow, my treatment was phenomenal. Honestly, I should have just gone back there in the first place,” she said. Conaway’s recovery has been steady, but there have been challenges along the way, including a seizure three months ago that has led her to quit driving temporarily. “But more than anything, I wake up every morning happy to be alive, and I attribute that to Barrow,” she says. “Knowing what could have happened if I hadn’t come here just makes me so incredibly grateful.” ■
Artist Barbara Conaway donated a painting of sunflowers to Barrow to thank the institute for her care.
“He told me my treatment options were ‘surgery, surgery or surgery,’ so I chose surgery.” Barbara Conaway
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