‘I Got Cleared To Start Drinking Water’: 23-Year-Old with Feeding Tube Shares the Story of Her Fight to Get a Diagnosis

Doctors had found a grapefruit-sized tumor in her chest. To make matters worse, the tumor would go on to leave two massive holes in her esophagus as it shrank from treatment. This left her unable to eat or drink and she had to be attached to a feeding tube.

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Thankfully Leonardo found out she was in remission in April. Better yet, she found out the holes in her esophagus are shrinking despite grim initial predictions from her doctors. She has since returned to drinking and hopes to be able to eat soon.

Despite this great news, Leonardo’s story was full of hardship, especially in the months leading up to her diagnosis. According to a series of posts made on her TikTok account, @hellolaurenleo, she had to fight to have doctors take her seriously despite progressively worsening symptoms. Leonardo stated that she had been experiencing such severe difficulty swallowing that food and medicine had to be crushed up for her. Doctors had repeatedly dismissed her case until she developed a visible lump near her throat. She was then referred to an ear, nose, and throat specialist who further assured her that she was fine after performing both a biopsy and a scan.

Finally on July 27, 2020 Leonardo ended up in the ER because she was having trouble breathing. An ER doctor noticed something concerning on a previous scan that had been done by the ENT. This is what led to her finding out she had cancer.

Leonardo can now be seen on social media constantly encouraging her followers to fight for themselves if they think something is wrong. The resilience she has displayed throughout her harrowing journey is inspiring.

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