“Two weeks later is when I had the surgery. I don’t think I realized the extent of how bad it was. I didn’t know, and I don’t think they wanted to tell me”. Simpson continued, “It was bad. They brought in one of the top neurosurgeons in the country, and it wasn’t until after the fact that I found out how serious it was”. “I had a twelve-hour surgery and they told my mother I may not make it.” Tearfully recalling the strength of her mother, Darlene, during this ordeal; Simpson’s tears reflected pride as she subtly hinted that her mother’s strength helped her to keep holding on. With her mother came the rest of the family; standing strong as their daughter, aunt, and sister underwent a struggle like she never imagined. Simpson recalls a moment where she was undergoing a tearful ordeal when her father started to shed tears. “To see my father cry— that’s what got me.” “My dad is a Vietnam Veteran, so I’ve never seen him cry”. “I can remember being in the hospital crying because it hurt so bad. I was in so much pain, my dad started crying”. She revealed, “I said I don’t ever want to see him cry again, so I just stopped. I endured all that pain because I didn’t want to see anyone else in pain.
very difficult, and if I didn’t have that type of support, it would have been a lot worse”. “The toughest part is not knowing what’s going to happen next. It may come back, we don’t know. I’m just taking life one day at a time”. Simpson is most grateful for the bond which has strengthened in her family. She smiled as she spoke of how much closer she and her three sisters have become; while she lit up when speaking of her only brother. However, the most significant change this has brought to the Simpson family is her father’s newfound expression of his love. “He never used to say, ‘I love you’—until now. He says it every day now and it’s amazing!” She tearfully exclaims. “I don’t think I’ll ever be myself again. I’m still April, but I want to travel more. Before I was only focused on my career. Now I’m ready to live”.
Simpson is successfully starting to readjust to life after an outstanding ordeal. She’s back at work broadcasting her beauty from within. She’s working on completing her Master’s degree; determined to keep on track her goals in life. This time she has more to celebrate. She’s started April’s Angels at www. AprilsAngelsFoundation.com with a mission to help people with brain tumors and their families get through the mental, physical and emotional toll it takes on them. Offering simple advice to others who are experiencing this and any other obstacle, Simpson reminds them to, “Stay prayerful and keep God first.”
“I refused to cry. Even when they were rolling me away, I was laughing and joking, but on the inside I was like….[makes a face to show she was terrified]. “I didn’t realize how serious it was. They briefed my mom. A twelve-hour surgery is crazy.” She continued, “ I just thought I had to get through it, but I wrote out my will and all this stuff because when you hear brain tumor, you think, ‘I’m going to die’. I didn’t know.” Diagnosed with an aggressive—stage-three— meningioma; Simpson would have to undergo six-weeks of radiation to remove what remained—yet through it all, she and her family remained prayerful. Determined not to let life escape her without a fight, Simpson took to the internet to share her story first-hand with the world. “Initially it was supposed to be for my family if I didn’t make it and for me if I didn’t remember things.” It was through Facebook that she sat at her computer and explained the details of her ordeal. What started off as a means to communicate with frantic family members who received a more dire diagnosis through the grapevine than what the doctors initially gave; became a Facebook favorite, igniting a powerful prayer chain where the Saints called out to the Savior in Simpson’s name. Simpson credits the power of prayer as the reason for her recovery. “What shocked me most of all was how many people were praying for me.” She admitted, “It was really amazing. I didn’t think that many people cared”. “It was
At the time this article was written, it had been four months since Simpson’s surgery, and nearly one month since her last radiation treatment. Awaiting the results of a pending MRI to reveal the results, Simpson is praying for a positive prognosis. For now she’s enjoying life one day at a time. Today she has life. Left with scars from the surgery and varied vision in her left eye; Simpson is reminded that she shares the soul of a survivor— and her story continues….Stay tuned. DELUX-MAG.COM OCTOBER 2011 | 41