YouTube Star Facing Devastating Diagnosis Shares Surgery Video
Reporting: Zahra Huber / Video: George Fox
GROSSE POINTE PARK (WWJ) -- Courtney Elizabeth Warner was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Being the creator of a popular YouTube channel she thought to document her treatment and surgery and share it with her audience. Now she hopes the videos will help others, but unexpectedly her fans have been a huge part of her path to recovery.
Watching the surgery video was challenging for her mom Jan Warner who joined her for the interview at their Grosse Pointe Park home. Mom has been a major support for her daughter, but watching the video was rough. "It was way too much as a mom," she said. She understood how valuable the videos could be for others going through the same illness.
WWJ's Zahra Huber had a chance to talk with Courtney Warner who became a YouTube sensation through her makeup tutorials. She has nearly 250 thousand subscribers and her brain surgery video is nearing three million views.
During treatment she lost a lot of her hair, some peripheral vision and struggles to find the right words which can be challenging for a teacher and YouTube creator, but she's excited to get back to school and is already making new videos.
"I just want to get back to normal and I just want to do what I love to do and I love to do those videos and I can't wait to go to school ..." she said.
Her YouTube fans well wishes were vital to her recovery she said, "sometimes I want to cry because people are so nice to me."
One of her goals right now is to be invited on "The Ellen Degeneres Show" to help others battling brain tumors and to raise money for research.