A Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader believed she was suffering from hearing loss when she first noticed some changes in her right ear back in 2011.
But after spending six years being 'misdiagnosed, under diagnosed and dismissed' Shanna Adamic, now 44, was diagnosed with a rare tumor in her ear.
Shanna spent a number of years visiting multiple doctors after suffering from headaches, loss of vision and slurred speech, but her symptoms were always dismissed.
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"I was told I may be suffering anything from a common cold to sleep apnea, sinus infection, even Lemierre's disease, vertigo," she told the Daily Mail.
"I was treated for dehydration many, many times. [My condition] was blamed on hormonal changes, breastfeeding my kids, menstrual period.
"I felt crazy and I started to believe that there was nothing wrong with me."
After noticing a change in her hearing, doctors suggested it could be down to her job, having worked in loud stadiums for over a decade.
But despite having a CT scan which came back clear, just a year later and medics found a two-inch tumor in Shanna's ear, which had been pushing up against her brain.
The non-cancerous tumor was an acoustic neuroma which is a benign tumor that usually grows slowly over a number of years.
The tumor grows on the nerve used for hearing and balance, with symptoms including hearing loss; tinnitus; feeling as though you're moving or spinning; headaches and blurred or double vision.
"When I received my diagnosis, the doctor referred to it as a ticking time bomb," said Shanna. "And he said, 'it's pressing on your on and off switch' and I will never forget the feeling of hearing that and thinking, 'okay, what do I do next?'"
To remove the tumor, Shanna underwent a gruelling 13-hour surgery, which left her with facial weakness and paralysis.
"In that moment that I found going into that surgery and waking up with with my life, but then also a very different version of me [of having] one side paralysis and not knowing if I was going to get my facial function back on that side, gaining my mobility functions, all of that," she explained.
"I had to really kind of dig deep in that moment to think how was I going to love this version of me coming out of it and going to use this to be a positive force?"
After spending years in physical therapy, Shanna has made a full recovery, with a recent scan revealing no signs of the tumor.
"I think I had to keep listening to this inner voice that kept telling me something was wrong. And it did," she added.
Topics: Sport, Health, US News, Kansas City Chiefs
Lucy Devine