Hello!

My name is Alexis King Ford and I am 29 years old. I consider myself a proud graduate of NC State (bachelor's degree) and Wake Forest University (master's degree). My marriage to Kolsen has brought me a lot of joy these past two years.    

I was diagnosed with a brain tumor on June 5th, 2019. While I was asleep on June 4th I had a grand mal seizure, which led me to the emergency room.  I was given a CT scan. The doctor came back and said there was something on my scan, so she needed to take an MRI to get a better look. After the MRI she came back and said I had a tumor the size of a clementine in my brain. 

Within the next week I spent a lot of time at Duke Hospital. I met my surgeon Dr. Friedman and he explained everything to me about my brain tumor.  He asked me what I wanted to do and I said, "get it out." Five days later, on June 12, I had the surgery to remove my tumor. I was mostly unconscious for the five days following the surgery and spent the next 14 days in the hospital. I had so many wonderful doctors, nurses, and therapists that got me through this difficult time and I am very thankful for them and the care they gave to me.

On August 20, 2022 I had a seizure while at home.  A MRI showed that my brain tumor was growing. I completed a full year of chemotherapy this past December. This was 5 days of chemotherapy and 25 days off for 12 months. Thank you to everyone at Duke that got me through this process and to Dr. Peters who continues to monitor my health. And thank you to my hometown team, Dr. Vaslow and Dr. Squire, at Cone Cancer Center for getting me through the radiation and chemotherapy.

Thank you to all of my family and friends who continue to pray for me.  I specifically want to thank my best friend, Leigh and her mother Pam who are both registered nurses.  They were constantly in my ICU room at Duke, and having both of them as my health care advocates was a priceless gift that I will never forget.  I would also like to thank my husband and mom for being the greatest cheerleaders. 

Please sign up to run or walk in the 5K and/or donate to my team! Your gift will be used for brain tumor research and education.  Thank you for joining team Pink Penguins!