“You’re welcome to share one of my experiences at UT. I have chronic migraines and a cyst on my pituitary gland. Before I had surgery, I was a frequent flyer at the ER due to the intense pain. Every single visit, they were supposed to run a CT scan to monitor the cyst—making sure it hadn’t moved or grown.

Well, one time I came in and the doctor outright refused to scan me. He gave me a Tylenol and tried to discharge me. I explained that this migraine felt different, something was wrong, and I needed the scan. Still, he refused—wouldn’t even call my neurologist for guidance. He accused me of faking the pain just to get drugs.

We refused to leave. My mom ended up calling my neurologist directly, who then spoke with a nurse at UT. That’s the only reason the doctor finally agreed to scan me. The results showed the cyst had shifted slightly—and my neurologist immediately ordered me to be transferred to Fort Worth. Within a week, I had surgery to remove the cyst.

If that doctor hadn’t finally listened, I could have gone blind.”