10/16/2026
Hi Everyone! As most of you know, I (Shelley) moved to Nova Scotia during the pandemic. I have been working hard for 5+ years with the homeless population and also a stint in healthcare. I have been going to walk in clinics for 4+ years with complaints about my cognitive functioning and memory. I've felt like I have dementia! Due to the decline in cognitive functioning, I lost two new jobs, that I loved, working with the Mobile Crisis Team that also runs the provincial crisis line, and as a member of an Outreach Team. In early 2025, I had lost the ability to spell most words and was having difficulty reading. Thankfully, I no longer struggle to read and my ability to spell has mostly returned, although I still have difficulty with spelling. While in the above mentioned new positions, I stayed on as a casual worker in a shelter job I've had since 2023. It's gotten to the point where I cannot work. I don't even remember the coworkers'names I've worked with since 2023. I regularly can't find words, I forget what happened two hours ago, I completely lose my train of thought mid sentence and can't finish the sentence. I have ataxia (unsteady balance) and fall frequently, my vision blurs several times a day, I regularly get severe headaches and experience nausea, I've lost control of my bladder, I've had a seizure in my left leg, my left leg frequently gets weak and I live in a three story walk up on the top floor. I drop things constantly, my spacal awareness and depth perception is off, I have sensory issues I didn't previously with everything too loud and too bright, I suffer with extreme fatigue and have for 2.5 years. I sleep 14-20 hours a day. I stopped participating in social activities in Halifax because they are too draining and I don't have the balance or cognition needed for the activities.
I have been fighting to get EI since June. I'm paying my rent and all bills, including double for my work benefits, with my line of credit but before long that is going to run out. The money that has already been raised with this Go Fund Me paid my rent this past month. I wanted to use it for a private MRI but didn't raise near enough. I was in Kitchener in September and ended up at the ER. The brain tumour has grown between 3 and 4 times the expected rate, since I was diagnosed May 3rd. My Nurse Practitioner is still very dismissive. She tells me it is going to take at least another year, if not more, to get an MRI.
I'd be so appreciative of any help anyone can offer to help me reach the goal of getting an MRI that has been recommended privately.
Fundraiser by Cher McNeil : Support Shelley Ibbotson on her brain tumour journey https://share.google/vnn9FNRjTy7weZRYO
Please share this post with your people. I'd so appreciate it. Thank you.
Our friend Shelley has been diagnosed with a brain tumour, the next… Cher McNeil needs your support for Support Shelley Ibbotson on her brain tumour journey
