The Krue family is used to illness.
Lauren Krue, 13, and her mother Julie, of Phoenix, Ariz., suffer from Lupus, an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and pain in various parts of the body.
But a bigger concern for Lauren is her diagnosis of Pseudo Tumor Cerebra – a disease that tricks her body into thinking she has a tumor when she really doesn’t, KPNX-TV reported Wednesday.
“It’s a very complicated disease,” said Dr. Jeffrey Weiss of the Phoenix Children’s Hospital, where Lauren spends most of her time.
The disease means Lauren has had a headache for six months and has been through countless surgeries in the past few years. She has had multiple spinal taps to relive the fluid that causes pressure and pain on her brain, and doctors recently installed a shunt, which drains the fluid.
Still, the teenager is in constant pain. She receives pain medicine every two to four hours.
“It’s hard,” Lauren told KPNX-TV as she clutched her head in pain.
“The pressure is so intense, and no one can do anything,” Julie Krue added.
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