By I Am Renee – Founder of “Brain on Fire: Small but Mighty Tumor”
I didn’t choose the fire. It chose me.
It started as a flicker, memory loss, cognitive fog, the slow erosion of the woman I used to be.
I’ve worn many titles: single mother, entrepreneur, dreamer, fighter. But the title I never saw coming was pituitary warrior. My story isn’t just about survival it’s about awakening.
For years, I was a woman on the move. A phenomenal mother, a provider, a creator, a writer, a designer, some call it a serial entrepreneur. I built businesses from nothing. I raised my children through storms most couldn’t imagine. I learned how to keep going when life gave me no roadmap.
So, I built one.
But suddenly, I was forgetting names, moments, even my own voice. Doctors gave me labels. Calendars gave me deadlines. But none of them gave me language for the grief of disappearing while still alive.
I was a lioness who once never let anything silence her roar. You heard my roar from afar, a force that was dared to be reckoned with. But when that roar turned into silent tears, it became an out-loud cry for help. I knew I had to adjust my crown. In those moments, I remembered who I truly was. I was not just a mother, a fighter, a creator, or a serial entrepreneur. I was a woman capable of rising even when the world tried to quiet her. That realization became the spark I needed to reclaim my power, redefine my strength, and turn my struggle into purpose.
For most of my life, I was ill, but no one can tell me why. I suffered for years, begging for someone to hear my cry. In 2018, I was finally diagnosed with a pituitary tumor. I felt a strange relief. At least I finally had an answer. Little did I know, my world was about to crumble.
When I was diagnosed with a brain tumor, everything I thought I knew about strength was tested. I went from doing everything for everyone to fighting for my own life. Some days I couldn’t remember simple things. Other days I lost my balance. At night I laid awake questioning… why me.
As a single mother, stopping was never in the manual. I was the driver, and there was no one else to steer. So, I kept going, even as my body begged for rest. I fought through exhaustion, confusion, and pain while doctors dismissed me, offering antidepressants instead of answers. I wore strength like armor, but inside, I was breaking.
But somewhere in the midst of all that pain, confusion, and doctor visits…. a fire was lit.
That fire became Brain On Fire: Small But Mighty Tumor
“Brain on Fire” was born not from clarity, but from chaos. As I experienced the ache of watching my children witness my unraveling. I then made the fierce decision to turn that unraveling into a legacy.
October became my sacred month: the anniversary of our move, my birth month, and Pituitary Awareness Month. I claimed it as my comeback season. But with my memory and symptoms, the drop never happened. My body reminded me that healing has its own timeline.
Over the last two years, my body made the choice I wouldn’t dare to make, it shut down. I couldn’t get up. My children watched as I lost pieces of myself, and that pain broke me more than any diagnosis ever.
As I sit in sorrow, I can’t get those two years back. I feel every moment I lost with my children. I feel the time lost with myself. I also feel every moment lost with the businesses I poured my heart into building. I remember the birthdays I couldn’t fully celebrate. I regret the afternoons I wasn’t presently there. The projects left unfinished. Yet, those losses lit a fire in me. A determination to reclaim time, to be fully here now, and to turn what I couldn’t control into purpose. Every moment I fight today is for the pieces of life I thought were gone. I fight for my children, for my creativity, and for the woman I am becoming.
Although, it was a hard pill to swallow, my fire was still burning, but it needed tending, not performing.
This campaign isn’t just an awareness movement, it’s my testimony. It’s for every person who looks fine on the outside but fights invisible battles inside. It’s for every mother, father, daughter, or son who has ever felt unheard, misdiagnosed, or dismissed.
Through Brain On Fire, I want to give a voice to the voiceless. I aim to raise awareness about pituitary conditions. I also want to remind warriors everywhere that we are more than our diagnosis.
My fire now fuels purpose to educate, inspire, and unite others who fight silently every day.
Awareness month has come to an end, but our fight never does.
This is our daily reality. It is our ongoing battle. It serves as our reminder that even a gland the size of a pea can ignite a movement.
This is my turning point. I refused to vanish quietly. I refused to let my story end in silence.
So, I will rise.
I will speak.
And build this movement.
This very movement. “Brain on Fire“ is not just a brand, it’s a rebellion. A memoir-in-motion. A daily act of defiance against silence, shame, and erasure. Every post, product, and affirmation is a breadcrumb back to me. The resilient woman who knew giving up would never be a choice. So, as I fight battle. I will pave the way for others to fight to for their voices be heard.
I take a stance against this silent killer. I’ll design through the fog. I’ll write through the forgetting. I advocate through the heartbreak, and I’ll fight through the pain. Because Brain on Fire isn’t about being perfect, it’s about being here. It’s about modeling real-time healing. It’s about comeback energy and sacred leadership. I do this for my children. I also do this for every warrior who’s ever been dismissed, doubted, or ignored.
I am Renee.
I am more than my diagnosis.
I am a Pituitary Warrior — and this is my fire.
🔥 #BrainOnFire #SmallButMightyTumor #PituitaryAwareness #MoreThanMyDiagnosis
💜 Call to Action
Your story matters. My story matters. Together, our fire can’t be extinguished.
Subscribe to my blog to follow my journey. Experience the wins, the setbacks, and the comebacks. Join me in turning awareness into action. Share your story, your fight, or even just your support.
This isn’t just my movement — it’s ours.
Light your fire. Stand with us. Be seen.
Support my health journey by donating or purchasing a hoodie “A Mother’s Fight for Life.”
“ Renée Reflections “ 