On 4 July 2010, as Samantha Kittle made her way to a show in Chicago, her face began to twitch. Next thing she knew, she was in intensive care, recovering from a series of seizures. Scans showed a mass in her brain’s right frontal lobe. As the 26-year-old prepared to go under the knife, she started the blog A Lie of the Mind. Here we see Kittle after the 4 July seizures, when she jokes, doctors ruled out “fierce patriotism” as a cause.Photograph: Samantha KittleSamantha, after the removal of a tumour “the size of a small lemon”.Photograph: Samantha KittlePlagued by forgetfulness that makes her constantly leave taps running, Samantha's home is covered in Post-It notes until she muses: “It’s all getting a bit Memento”.Photograph: Samantha KittleSamantha amuses herself by burying wellwishers’ flowers.Photograph: Samantha KittleSamantha celebrates her new freedom to cross the road without help.Photograph: Samantha KittleSamantha experiments with a novel way of concealing her impressive scars.Photograph: Samantha Kittle“The bathroom: a great place to cry” – Samantha learns that her tumour cells include some “aggressive bad guys” and she must go through chemotherapy. Photograph: Samantha Kittle“What do you do when you’re face to face with a brain tumour?” Samantha ponders. “Put on your wackiest sunglasses and hats!! And say, ‘Fuck you!’”Photograph: Samantha Kittle“You look like a bad-ass bitch,” one specialist tells Samantha when she visits his oncology centre. Her reply? “Sir, you are correct.”Photograph: Samantha Kittle
