One year ago…
Since I blogged about this important incident in my life a year ago, when it was fresh and new and stinging, I feel I should update. I have never been so thankful to give a yearly update.
Last year on this July 4 weekend I receive news that rocked so many worlds around me. My great friend and neighbor has a brain tumor. She had been traveling with her family across the country and couldn’t shake the migraines that plagued her almost daily. Finally, when she couldn’t stop the vomiting, her husband takes her to an emergency room in Utah. A head scanned shows the unimaginable. She has a mass in the center of her brain, between the two hemispheres.
Bad Turns to Worse
In the beginning, so many unknowns turn into devastation. Everyone assumes the brain tumor could be removed surgically. It could not. Everyone assumes it will be benign. It is not. Even though biopsies can’t give a clear diagnosis, the doctors assume her tumor a glioblastoma. Its aggressive nature and fast growth indicate as much. We all assume she has some time for answers and treatment, but it soon appears she doesn’t, and then it seems she does, back and forth so many times it makes a difficult situation unbearable.
Obviously it has been a roller coaster for that poor family. A year ago her prognosis was maybe 3 months, maybe 6 months of life yet. Approximately one year at the most. Would she see her senior daughter graduate from high school? And her youngest step into high school? Would she see her middle child grow into the fine young man he is becoming?
Treatment Ensues
Many weeks of radiation and even more months of an oral chemo make her feel crappy. She hangs in there, feeling less than well until her 49th birthday in October, and then until Thanksgiving, and then until Christmas, and then until the spring. The rest of us watch her ups and downs with both fear and amazement. She’s a fighter for sure. Finally, some months ago in the spring, Friend gets a break from treatment. She has reached the max amount of the oral chemo, so they stop it.
The rest of us don’t like the doctors’ idea of not replacing the oral chemo with another kind . She maxed out on radiation long ago. Now she won’t have any treatment at all? Would her health suddenly decline? The assumed glioblastoma is aggressive and unpredictable, and no one trusts it to be left alone. This sounds like a disaster in the making.
The Best Kind of Surprise
Well, just the opposite happens. Without the chemo, Friend feels gradually better and better. She has more of an appetite. Food tastes better. She isn’t as sleepy all the time. She has more energy to walk around. She is able to go to even more school events. She remembers what she ate at the last meal.
And her brain MRIs have shown even more exciting news. In April the scan showed less inflammation and a slightly smaller mass. And last week’s scan shows even more shrinkage in both inflammation and tumor. Nothing astounding or drastic, but shrinkage none the less. We will take any amount of shrinkage. We have been hoping for the brain tumor to at least stay the same, but shrinkage is even better.
And it has been a year, the high end of how long they predicted she might live. Not only has she maxed out her prognosis, her health seems the best yet since last year’s July 4th weekend. Amazing.
Friend’s sister told me that the oncologist refers to Friend as The Rock Star. That she is. Never did I think that I would spend July 4 with her this year, but I did. She has been present at several of her kids’ school presentations, sporting events, two of their graduations and all of their birthdays.
God’s Goodness
Friend and I are Christians, as are our families. So many prayers have gone up for her that only God could possibly count them. Although fear still haunts us for the day her health might change, we are so thankful to God for His blessings so far. He has given that family precious moments that far exceed expectations, moments that we appreciate far more than before her diagnosis.
And even if He didn’t, we still follow Him, thankful for the day when we will see each other once again in His presence. He is our hope.
Thank you so much for writing this Jodi. This really spoke to me today and both Lyle and I got choked up. Thank you for helping us to remember God’s goodness and helping us to be truly thankful. This year has been difficult in so many ways, but filled with so many blessings too. Thank you for helping us to remember them! God’s blessings!