NEED TO KNOW
Demmi Wilson was diagnosed with a rare condition causing fluid buildup in her skull and vision loss
Doctors recommended gastric bypass surgery to reduce brain pressure and lower her risk of going blind
After two surgeries and significant weight loss, Wilson is regaining her life and spending more time with her kids
A young mother was worried she wouldn’t be able to see her children after doctors told her she was going blind, but a surgery saved her eyesight.
Demmi Wilson, a mom of three, was diagnosed with idiopathic intracranial hypertension in September 2023 after suffering from a five-day headache.
“I had awful mom guilt because of this,” Wilson, 27, said, according to Kennedy News and Media. “I wanted to get out and do things with my children and I just couldn’t do it.”
Idiopathic intracranial hypertension is a rare condition that happens when cerebrospinal fluid, which typically supports the spinal cord and brain, builds up in the skull, per the Cleveland Clinic.
She underwent surgery for a stent to drain the fluid as she was suffering vision loss from a build-up of fluid pressure around her brain.
Demmi Wilson in December 2025
Credit: Kennedy News & Media
“Following my brain surgery, I was still getting the headaches and I could be bed-bound for four days a week,” she added.
However, after the surgery, Wilson’s vision only got worse. Doctors told her to prepare to go blind when she was 26.
“I felt like I was failing and letting my children down as I couldn’t do normal family activities,” she explained.
“All I could think about was I was going to hear my children grow up but never see them,” Wilson continued. “They threatened to take my driving license from me and were going to give me a counselor to help me process going blind.”
Demmi Wilson with her children
Credit: Kennedy News & Media
Her specific condition appears as tumor-like symptoms, but is actually caused by a build-up of pressure around the brain.
One doctor then suggested an unexpected procedure that could possibly save her vision: dramatic weight loss. Wilson soon had a gastric bypass surgery in May 2025, losing around 120 lbs. after the procedure.
“I was told they wanted me to try a weight loss procedure,” she said. “If I dropped a drastic amount of weight fast, they said it might reduce the pressure in my brain and take the stress off my optic nerve.”
“They didn’t say my weight was a cause of my brain condition but said losing weight may help with my eyesight and stop me going blind,” Wilson added.
After her gastric bypass surgery, Wilson said she still has vision issues and headaches, but has a lower risk of going blind now.
“I still have bad days but the pain isn’t as bad and they’re not as bad as they used to be,” she said. “From a medical point of view, my swelling markers are really starting to stabilize, so this is really reducing the risk of me going blind.”
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Wilson plans to start a support group for those also experiencing idiopathic intracranial hypertension.
“You might think it is a normal headache but you need to get things checked if the headache is not going away because there could be more sinister things to it,” she said. “Even if this helps one person to realize they are not alone with this condition, that would be enough.”
After the two surgeries, Wilson explained that she’s finally getting back to her regular life and spending time with her children, saying, “I just wanted to be a normal person and now I’m starting to get those normal parts of my life back which I didn’t have for nearly two years.”
Read the original article on People