Isabella Strahan bravely opens up about her challenging recovery after undergoing her first chemotherapy treatment for a brain tumor.
In her latest YouTube video, the 19-year-old student and model discussed her ongoing health journey following emergency surgery last October to remove a sizable medulloblastoma from her cerebellum.
Isabella is one of Michael Strahan’s four children. Michael, a renowned television personality and host of Good Morning America, has been there for his daughter every step of the way.
Isabella revealed her recent hospitalization was due to a high fever, noting she had been there for three days.
“I’ve just been getting a lot of fevers. If you get a fever of 100.4, you have to come in,” she said.
Passing the time with bingo and phone games, Isabella underwent her initial blood transfusion, had an MRI done of her eyes, and had her chemotherapy port cleaned before finally being able to return home.
Unfortunately, only a few hours later, Isabella was back in a hospital bed.
“I catfished everyone. We left the hospital after three or four days and now we’re back less than 12 hours later because I have a fever again,” she shared. “I got a fever of 102 and had to come back in. So, we’re trying to figure out what’s wrong.”
“This is the worst fever I think I’ve had,” she explained. “I don’t feel as horrible as I did the first time…I have a really bad headache so I thought nothing of it and now we’re in the ER.”
After being asked how she felt, Isabella admitted, “I don’t feel great. I don’t feel horrible. I’ve felt worse but I don’t feel good. I feel like I can barely walk now.”
“I have my cute gown on. Trying to look fashionable!” Isabella joked as she posed for a picture from her hospital bed.
Isabella then revealed that she was about to head in to have last-minute surgery to drain fluid from the back of her head.
Wrapping up her vlog, Isabella concluded, “Bye guys. Wish me luck!”
Michael Strahan previously mentioned how beneficial it has been for Isabella to document her journey through her YouTube series, which she began to support Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center.
“I think, for her, so many people have reached out and said, ‘I’m glad you’re doing this,’ ‘Thank you for doing this,’ ‘This has really helped us,’ and all that support that she is getting from people she doesn’t know, on top of people that she does know, has kept her in a very positive space,” he said. “So thank you to everybody.”
Isabella’s Initial Brain Cancer Diagnosis
During an emotional interview on Good Morning America on January 11, Michael Strahan first revealed that Isabella had been diagnosed with brain cancer.
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In late October, she received the diagnosis and immediately underwent emergency surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles to remove the mass on October 27, just one day before her 19th birthday.
“I didn’t notice anything was off ‘til probably like Oct. 1st. That’s when I definitely noticed headaches, nausea, couldn’t walk straight.”
A few weeks later, she began waking up throwing up blood.
“I was like, ‘Hm, this probably isn’t good.’ So I texted [my sister], who then notified the whole family,” Isabella explained.
Michael revealed, “That was when we decided, ‘You need to really go get a thorough check up.’ And thank goodness for the doctor. I feel like this doctor saved her life because she was thorough enough to say, ‘Let’s do the full check up.’”
Before undergoing her current chemotherapy treatments, Isabella went through an intense series of radiation treatments, enduring 30 sessions over six weeks.
Following her final treatment, Isabella had the opportunity to ring the bell, marking the end of her radiation treatment and celebrating a significant milestone in her journey.
RELATED: Michael Strahan’s Daughter Celebrates Last Radiation Treatment
Isabella’s strength has been an inspiration, and our prayers continue to be with her and her loved ones as they navigate through this difficult time.
Watch Isabella’s latest vlog on her two surprise visits to the ER below.
