A fourth-year medical student who underwent six brain surgeries to treat her brain condition is on her way to finishing her degree in medical school, according to multiple reports.
"When I got my diagnosis, I was sent to a neurosurgeon," Martinez said, according to ABC123. "He told me that I needed brain surgery as soon as possible. If not, I was going to be paralyzed from the neck down. And so within a week, I was undergoing my first brain surgery."
She said that despite her diagnosis, she managed to graduate from the University of Houston and went on to attend UTHealth McGovern to pursue her medical degree. In that time, she has had to undergo five more brain surgeries, not all of which have been smooth sailing.
"By far having my last brain surgery and then suffering the stroke has been the hardest battle we have faced," Martinez wrote, in regard to the stroke she suffered when she underwent the surgery. "We take for granted what we have each day. But we always have to be thankful because things can always be worse."
Her condition also left her with an abundance of problems, one of which had left her stomach partially paralyzed—unable to function normally. Throughout her three year recovery, she had a feeding tube connected to her.
When she documented the usage of her feeding tubes on Instagram, she expressed the desire to be able to eat by herself.
"All I wanted for Christmas was the ability to eventually eat one day, I think I might just get that," she wrote.
She has shared her journey to recovery on her Instagram, where she would update people on her progress.
"Now I have to follow a special diet because my stomach is still partially paralyzed, but at least now I can eat a good amount of food and just supplement with liquid calories," she wrote. "In December I had surgery on my stomach for my Gastroparesis (partial paralysis of the stomach). The surgery was a great success and I have been able to maintain and gain weight eating orally since then, while weaning off the feeding tube. I am hoping to get my feeding tube removed in the next couple of months, but it has to stay in for now."
Martinez started her fourth and final year at McGovern Medical School at the beginning of May.
Martinez said that when she completes her training, she unfortunately won't be able to pursue the path of becoming a neurosurgeon anymore because she has lost the ability to use her hands. In her Instagram posts, she said that being a neurosurgeon has been a dream since she was about eight. To her, having the brain condition is ironic, given her dream career. However, despite all the adversity, she has managed to pull through and said she will just change her career path and become a doctor.
She explained that she is thankful that the whole process she has been through has opened her eyes to another field of medicine, and that she would be pursuing the field of physical medicine and rehabilitation and neurology. She said she believed everything happens for a reason.
"Thank you God for taking away something I thought I wanted and introducing me to a field of medicine that I’d have otherwise never been exposed to, one that is perfect for me. Thank you for always preserving my intelligence during my many brain surgeries and for using my brain, even though at times my biggest defeat, as my biggest ally."
Watch Martinez's journey in the video below.