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alryan
New User
Joined: 28 May 2009
Posts: 1
Location: England
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 Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 5:47 pm Post subject: My Dads story - GBMIV |
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Hi All,
This is a short description of my dads diagnosis, treatment and unfortunate passing...
In June 2006 my father began his recovery from a very serious motorcycle accident and long stay in Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham. He suffered from a punctured lung, 10 fractured ribs, a crushed pelvis among many other complications. His determination to get back to normality was an outstanding achievement with an an ITV film crew following him through his recovery process.
A year or so later he began to experience symptoms which led us (me and my mum) to believe he was suffering from post traumatic stress. This was most unlike his character as he was a very down to earth man and extremely positive about life in general. Following a series of worrying events Dad was admitted to Burton Hospital in October 07 where he had a CT scan showing a tumour growing inside his brain. Following this he was admitted to Nottingham Queens Medical Centre and underwent a biopsy, the results of which gave us very bad news a Grade IV Glioma. The process of getting these results was so traumatic, from it taking a month just to arrange a biopsy to the bad news being delivered to in a hospital ward with children and my 80 year old grandparents present. I understand that the way the final diagnosis was delivered would not change anything but an unproffesional and somewhat thoughtless approach to this was extremley distressing not only for my family but also for my father.
Treatment followed in January 08, with dad receiving radio and chemotherapy at the Q.E. in Birmingham. A very intensive programme of 6 weeks of radiotherapy every morning (except weekends) with him getting up on cold and frosty mornings ready to go with a cup of coffee in his hand to start the day.
Unfortunately Dad had to bear many side effects of treatment which impacted greatly on his personality, standard of health and mobility. However in his own way, he remained upbeat and ever determined to do what he wanted to do, even baking bread at 2 or 3 in the morning! His passion was his motorbike and he had owned three or four in his time but because of his illness he decided the last one had to go, this was particularly hard for him to deal with.
The treatment was less successful than hoped, although I cannot complain about all the effort and kindness from the staff at the QE hospital and everyone else who had supported us all.
In June 2008 Dad suffered a spinal fracture which led to him never making it out of bed properly again. A long stay in a hospice and an even longer stay at a nursing home came to an end on the 14th January 2009.
Dad's funeral was certainly a celebration of his life and the lovely comments we have received from friends and work colleagues make me feel very honoured that they thought so much of him.
I miss my dad terribly and there is not a day that passes by that I dont spend most of my time thinking about him. I feel a lot of anger at how my dad was initially treated in hospital and also at the ignorance of some people who could not be paitent with him. I found the stigma associated with any sort of mental illness to be extremely upsetting.
I also feel a lot of guilt for not spending as much time as I could with him after his diagnosis and for not been there at the time of his death. During this time I was studying for my Masters Degree about 100 miles away, which he persisted I continued, but really restricted my visiting.
I am now trying my best to take care of my Mum and my thirteen year old brother.
Alec |
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artaran
Regular
Joined: 22 Feb 2007
Posts: 43
Location: Monterey CA
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| Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 1:35 pm Post subject: Re: My Dads story - GBMIV |
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I'm very sorry to hear about or loss. Brain Cancer is an awful disease. the journey is often harrowing. Doctor's and nurse do often forget to be careful with how they announce the diagnosis. My son Will found out over the phone, when he was at home by himself. He was 23 at the time. We have mixed feeling about that. We were glad to have found out sooner rather than having to take a trip to the doctor and yet it would have been nice if the doctor had made sure he wasn't by himself.
Once again I'm very sorry for your loss and all the difficulties you had to endure. I wish you the very best.
Arleen
_________________
Arleen Tarantino
http://www.willpowerresearchfund.com |
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forlynda
New User
Joined: 31 May 2009
Posts: 1
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| Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 1:07 pm Post subject: Re: My Dads story - GBMIV |
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Alec -
I just went though something very similar. My Mom was diagnosed with a GBM IV in Dec 07. Most of the tumor was removed, she did radiation treatments and then chemo (wasn't able to do both at the same time because her bloodwork indicated liver issues during radiation). She had wonderful care from the staff and doctors at the hospital and cancer center. While we all tried our best to live positive and compassionately, there was no doubt about the progressive loss of things she loved to do and talk about most. Through it all - she was incredibly strong. Shortly after starting a second round of chemo, an mri result in Jan 09 indicated regrowth of the mass and a second tumor growing in an inoperable location. On Feb 5, she passed away in palliative care.
We miss her terribly as she was always our rock and our joy. I too, think of my Mom throughout each day. I was in a similar situation as yours, living over 2000 miles away for school. I made several trips back home and spent a lot of quality time with her when there, but I still wonder if I should have dropped everything and stayed at home. Both my Mom and Dad said that it brought them something positive to think about, knowing I was moving forward with my life. The same for my brother who lived several hours away. They were proud of their kids and made it clear they did not want us to become their full-time caretakers. Despite what they said, I struggled deeply with what to do (at times I wasn't even able to do my research)...but now, I feel like they were right. Our family made it work. Every family is different. I know it's hard, but be proud of your accomplishments through such a difficult time. I'm sure your Dad would be proud of your choices today.
Best wishes to you and your family. |
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brainman
Site Admin
Joined: 13 Oct 2005
Posts: 5613
Location: Tennessee
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