Name
Gadiel Aksel Morales

Brain Tumor Type
Craniopharyngioma

Date of Diagnosis
02/18/2020

Participant Group
Brain Tumor Survivor / 12 and under

Category
Drawing/Painting/Printmaking/Chalk Art

Artist Statement (include type of art, techniques & materials used, what it means to you)
I used different paint colors to show my pain and how I had to bear it. There is a bear created from swirl and my finger marks are there for a pain you can't touch but see.

Artist Bio: Tell Us Your Story
I was diagnosed at the age of 2 years old with a brain tumor that changed the course of my entire life. I was not able to enjoy my milestone development stage or even build social skills. I was left in pain, suffering, loosing weight and navigating in a void of discomfort. I was not only diagnosed with the brain tumor but I ended with other medical conditions that put me four times in the verge of death. I contracted meningitis, flesh eating virus and pneumonia all at once while doctors were trying to figure what was happening to my body. The agony I suffered the time lost and the memory just swindle away. I couldn't eat, all I wanted was water the tumor in the pituitary causing pressing damage that diabetes insipidus took over. I was diagnosed after an unsuccessful brain surgery with hypopituitarism and adrenal insufficiency. My story goes on, on and on as the pain is ever lasting. My world is sometimes upside down -that is alright as I am autistic and proud to be different.