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Madison, Wis. — On May 1, during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Inga Roth-Kennedy noticed something was wrong in her left arm. It felt like muscle spasms, but it was enough to know something wasn't right.
That day, she met with her neurosurgeon, Dr. Mahua Dey, assistant professor of neurological surgery and director of surgical neuro-oncology program at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
Two years earlier Dr. Dey diagnosed her with a meningioma tumor on the right side of her brain. She told Roth-Kennedy if the tumor didn't grow she could live with it and surgery would not be needed. The most recent MRI showed the tumor had grown and required surgery to avoid longer term complications, all in the middle of a global pandemic. Two weeks later, Dr. Dey removed Roth-Kennedy's tumor in a 3.5-hour surgery.
"My family was very glad we didn't put it off. They had to do it," Roth-Kennedy said. "It was amazing how well my brain responded to the tumor's removal. I had a really great experience and felt safe with the COVID piece."
She is now back to running, gardening and all the things she did before her tumor was removed.
