Greetings, everyone.
Too many pages have passed since I last checked in or posted here for me to catch up on everything, so please don't take it personally if I skip over them.
Instead, I want to offer some encouragement to those battling glioblastoma: statistics aren't always the final word. There are always exceptions to the rules surrounding this diagnosis. My wife is one of those exceptions; she just entered her eighth year since being diagnosed a few weeks ago. The side effects from radiation and likely chemotherapy are more apparent now, so her short-term memory issues have become more pronounced, though her long-term memory remains perfectly intact. Her communication is slower than it was before the diagnosis, but I know plenty of healthy people who struggle more with communication than she does now. Due to a congenital hip dislocation and because the tumor was located in an area controlling movement, her walking is limited. However, it doesn't stop her from moving around the house or taking short walks on flat ground with either my help or the use of hiking sticks. As for hills or steep declines, she's out of luck—she needs significant support and stability there. You really have to be careful with the walking sticks. But despite all these hurdles and the need for assistance, she is independent. Also, incontinence issues aren't necessarily tied directly to the primary diagnosis.
For the most part, we lead a completely normal life. That said, I’ve had to take over many of the daily responsibilities she handled before she got sick. Balancing all of this with my other obligations isn't exactly easy, but we manage.
There is much more detail I could write, but what's the point? She is alive and doing well (no recurrence), and everything else is just the usual friction of life.
Best regards, following the motto I've held from the start: never surrender, just keep moving forward. At least, for as long as God allows us.
I wish all the patients and their caregivers nothing but the best.
Too many pages have passed since I last checked in or posted here for me to catch up on everything, so please don't take it personally if I skip over them.
Instead, I want to offer some encouragement to those battling glioblastoma: statistics aren't always the final word. There are always exceptions to the rules surrounding this diagnosis. My wife is one of those exceptions; she just entered her eighth year since being diagnosed a few weeks ago. The side effects from radiation and likely chemotherapy are more apparent now, so her short-term memory issues have become more pronounced, though her long-term memory remains perfectly intact. Her communication is slower than it was before the diagnosis, but I know plenty of healthy people who struggle more with communication than she does now. Due to a congenital hip dislocation and because the tumor was located in an area controlling movement, her walking is limited. However, it doesn't stop her from moving around the house or taking short walks on flat ground with either my help or the use of hiking sticks. As for hills or steep declines, she's out of luck—she needs significant support and stability there. You really have to be careful with the walking sticks. But despite all these hurdles and the need for assistance, she is independent. Also, incontinence issues aren't necessarily tied directly to the primary diagnosis.
For the most part, we lead a completely normal life. That said, I’ve had to take over many of the daily responsibilities she handled before she got sick. Balancing all of this with my other obligations isn't exactly easy, but we manage.
There is much more detail I could write, but what's the point? She is alive and doing well (no recurrence), and everything else is just the usual friction of life.
Best regards, following the motto I've held from the start: never surrender, just keep moving forward. At least, for as long as God allows us.
I wish all the patients and their caregivers nothing but the best.