Friday, January 15, 2010
Surviving Brain Cancer
On May 18th, 2002, at the age of 27 years old, I was diagnosed with brain cancer. After brain surgery to remove the tumor, I had to re-learn most everything (speaking, walking, driving, etc). My husband quit his job and school, and we moved from Utah to Colorado where my parents could help take care of me until I recovered.
In June of 2004, miraculously, we became pregnant (according to doctors it was an impossible dream, as we had tried for five years). What a beautiful surprise for us, as our little angel, Isaac, was born in March of 2005. A perfectly healthy, alert, active and loving child had finally blessed our family!
Six months later I suffered a brain hemorrhage, similar to a stroke. Another tumor had grown in my brain and had burst. My hero husband saved my life that day. He was there when I needed him the most. He was trained in the exact necessary procedures which allowed me to hold on to life until the ambulance arrived. Bless his sacred soul. Inevitably, a second brain surgery was necessary.
Doctors gave me little hope. They told her me I had 1-2 years to live if I did not follow up with radiation and chemo. I searched for another method to allow me to keep my "quality" of life. Three months later (December 2005), three tumors already had begun to grow. This is when I learned of a treatment created by Dr. Kelley and Dr. Gonzalez. With their method, I needed to take many enzymes that were not covered by insurance. I continued the treatment for 3 years. The treatment seemed to slow the growth, but not stop it completely. Consequently, I had my third brain surgery in December 2008 to remove them.
Merry Christmas! I spent almost the entire December month in the hospital. It was one of the more memorable holidays because I felt the true love of the season. I was surrounded by love, and learned a valuable lesson about the true meaning of Christmas. This love came not only from my family, but from countless people whom I had never met before who served me in many ways. Even with the dim circumstances, I will always hold that Christmas dear to my heart.
Two weeks after moving home from the hospital, we had a fire that began in our basement. Luckily, the firemen saved our house, but still we needed to live in a hotel for a few months while they fixed up our little home. Challenging at first, as I was not able to walk or drive in order to obtain the necessary needed items: diapers, toothpaste, food, etc., I soon realized the most important lesson that I needed to learn during this time. While being at the hospital an entire month, I kept longing to arrive home, to my own bed, my own pillows, my own bathroom. Just a few weeks later, we were sent to a hotel and the challenges of longing to have my own things to help heal were insurmountable. Slowly, I came to one simple conclusion: It is not the items owned or current location that matters most, but our heart that makes the attitude. Even if everything is taken away from us (like in my situation), we can still be happy...if we choose to be happy.
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