by Mary

On April 26, 2010 I brought my husband to an after hours clinic for what I thought was "some type of stomach virus". There he was diagnosed with vertigo and I told the doctor, he doesn't have vertigo. He's becoming more and more disoriented. Something else is going on. He recommended that we go to a local ER at the hospital. Once at the ER the doctor indicated that she thought he had suffered a stroke and recommended a CT Scan. The doctor came back in and said, good news, he did not suffer a stroke. Bad news is that he has a 5 centimeter tumor on the right frontal lobe. My husband was transferred to another hospital which had a neurology department. There it was confirmed that he had stage IV GBM. If he didn't undergo surgery the most he had was 3 months to live. On May 1, 2010 he underwent a surgery. During surgery he suffered a stroke due to the tumor being wrapped around a blood vessel. The stroke left him with paralysis on the left side of his body. The doctor indicated that he should not have survived the stroke, much less the cancer. He gave him three to six months thereafter. I told the doctor that he could not predict this as there is only one person that knew, and I had more faith and hope that he would be with me longer than that. From there it was 2 weeks of rehabilitation, six weeks of radiation, and 9 months of chemotherapy. The last MRI, August 2011, his tumor is in remission, but from undergoing the surgery and subsequent treatment and the affects of the stroke, he has no brain left on the right side. Before surgery, I prayed and asked God to just give him back to me and that I could handle the situation from there. To say the least, I did not realize what I would have to handle. Since being diagnosed, he has never been the person I knew. He still has paralysis on the left side, which also includes no hearing, memory loss, confused, agitated, frustrated. He requires 24/7 care and assistance. It's as though he is trapped in his own body and can't get out. I often think what kind of life is this for him? I also think I have been greedy and will not let go. Married for over 25 years and our children were now taking care of their own, now it was our time together! I am so thankful that God has given me the extra time to share with him. I believe that faith and through prayers is why he still with us today!