Thankful People: Tumor survivor says she's 'lucky to be living'

Charisse Parrish has cheated death twice in the last seven months. To say that she is thankful is an understatement.

After being told her brain tumor had doubled in size and needed to be removed, her apartment essentially melted during a late April fire, leaving Parrish homeless and hopeless.

Now Parrish, healthy and recovering from removal of the tumor, is living in a three-bedroom house in Cape Girardeau with her two children, Austin, 7, and Brittany, 9 -- a long way from the small two-bedroom trailer they once shared with her mother after the fire. At that time Parrish described her situation as "overwhelming" and "scary." But these days she can't contain her enthusiasm and happiness.

"Looking back at that I know I'm lucky to be living. My son and I barely got out of that fire alive, and it was looking bad for us after losing our home and everything we owned," Parrish said. "I can see now that everything that happened was like a blessing, because we are so much better off than we've ever been."

Parrish considers her new home a "huge improvement" over the old apartment. She loves the big backyard for her children and the caring attitude of new landlord and longtime friend Levonn Jones.

Six months ago, Charisse Parrish stands in the burned shell that was once her kitchen. Her apartment was burned when she was in need of brain surgery to remove a tumor.

"I always used to worry about something happening to me or my children," Parrish said. "Now they are happy and I feel better about giving them a great environment to grow up in."

But the fire was only one part of Parrish's trouble. Dr. Sonjay Fonn, a neurosurgeon based in Cape Girardeau, had been treating Parrish's benign brain tumor, called a meningioma, and said surgery was needed before it became an emergency.

"The fear is, as the tumor grows at this rate, it might take control," Fonn said in May. "However, we must remove the tumor before we no longer have control and it presents symptoms critical to life."

Parrish was scheduled for surgery April 25, the same day her apartment caught fire, but she had to cancel due to a sinus infection that could have caused complications and until she had a stable situation in which to recover. However, after her recent operation to remove the tumor, she says it was the help, love and support from friends and family that lit her way through the darkness.

"I thank God every day for what my mother has done for me. She was right there to carry me out of my problems and through the surgery," Parrish said. "And I have had so many friends really going above and beyond during this recovery."

One of her closest friends, Ann Burchyett, can't help but feel admiration for Parrish. She said that although there have been many bad times for Parrish, she has always overcome them with unrelenting strength.

"Charisse has always been a tough one and not somebody to give up," Burchyett said. "Even the pain and horror of the brain tumor surgery has not slowed her down. They had to peel back the skin on her head, and she lost a lot of hair. But Charisse has been strong through it all. It's like it was God's will that she live."

Nancy Haggy, Parrish's mother and a cancer survivor, said that as Thanksgiving arrives she is most thankful her daughter is still alive. But she is also grateful to those who have given time and money to help Parrish get a fresh start.

"It's been rough, and I am very grateful we made it through," Haggy said. "The Lord has really answered our prayers, and that's a big Thanksgiving gift. There has also been so many people sending gift cards and letters of encouragement and I can't thank them enough. The community has been pulling for Charisse, and it has helped us move forward."

The only question for Parrish is what's next for her and her children.

"I've been thinking a lot about my future and what to do now," she said. "I might go back to school. I might just try to find a job I can do with my medical problems. I do know I will be enjoying every moment with my children and every second of life."