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Super-fit bikini model Vicki Perez first noticed she was gaining weight in October 2015. Within 12 months she went from 130lbs to 172lbs, despite working out every day. Her face began to bloat and her feet swelled that it grew large she couldn't even wear shoes.

Gym and fitness were always her passion that's why she was shocked when she gained weight that fast. The mother-of-one later discovered she had Cushing's disease, a condition that's caused by high cortisol levels. On January that she found that it was due to a deadly tumor on her pituitary gland.

In February 2016, she first noticed strange rashes on her hands and body. She thought it was just an allergy but the next day when she was working out she couldn't breathe. She was rushed to hospital in anaphylactic shock.

After numerous tests, medics saw there was nothing wrong. She decided to take her MRI and CT scans and saw a Cushing Disease specialist at The University of Alabama according to The Daily Star.

There they saw the tumor was in her brain and how her hospital completely misread the scans. After further tests, doctors confirmed it was a brain tumor.

Perez underwent two surgeries to have the tumor removed.  She had an initial surgery in June to remove the tumor on her left pituitary and had another operation to remove the second tumor in July according to Daily Mail.

Two days after the first surgery her feet went back to normal. After eight months of recovery, she still has a long way to go she said. Her weight is now down to 150lbs and now able to wear shoes and normal clothes.

She has finally begun to recover and wants to share her story to help raise awareness. She is currently studying to become a dental hygienist in Florida.

"My son really struggled with seeing me so sick but now I am able to spend time with him, he is so much better and not acting out at school," she said.

Perez is raising money to cover medical costs at gofundme.com/2bhpsu4.