Bachelor Nation’s Joe Amabile is continuing to document his ongoing health journey, revealing the five daily struggles the reality TV star is facing as he continues to recover from brain surgery.
“I wanted to make this video mainly because, overall, I’m doing wonderful, but has it all been great? No. There are things I struggle with,” Joe, 40, said in a video shared via Instagram on Saturday, September 5 — four-and-a-half months after he had surgery to remove a tumor from his brain.
“Number one: Overstimulation,” he continued. “if I’m scrolling too much on social media. If, I have a big TV in this room, if I watch it for too long I do get a little lightheaded. I have to go in my bedroom, turn the lights off.”
He added, “Socializing is another thing that I’ve been hesitant to do. I’m starting to get back into it — next week there is going to be a lot of people in New York. I’ve been on the more cautious side.”
Joe announced via Instagram on July 13 that doctors discovered “a blueberry size lesion” on his brain, which appeared to be a tumor, during an MRI scan. On August 6, Joe revealed that doctors “got it all” after operating on his brain. He was later diagnosed with “an astrocytoma, but it’s very low grade.” (Astrocytoma is a type of tumor found on the brain or spinal cord that starts in cells called astrocytes and may result in headaches, seizures, nausea or changes in mood or behavior, according to the Mayo Clinic.)
In his Saturday update, Joe continued to break down the daily struggles he is facing as he continues his recovery.
“Three: Anxiety is something I have been dealing with my whole life, but it’s definitely ramped up now,” he continued in the candid social media video. “Any time I read anything about the certain tumor that I have I just get — my hands sweat, I get anxious.”
He added, “I feel 100 percent at times and then I do tend to overdo it. I’m an over-doer. I’m struggling making this video, is what I’m doing.”
The reality TV star, who was lovingly known as “Grocery Store Joe” on season 14 of The Bachelorette, went on to share that prior to his health scare he could “operate on very little sleep,” noting that he can no longer run on a limited amount of rest.
“Five: I’m someone that has always been able to operate on very little sleep — I can’t do that anymore. At least not right now, so I need — my sleep is really important,” he continued. “And I think that’s it really.”
He added, “And you know — honorable mentions, this is going to be with me for the rest of my life but that is a video for another time.”
