What bought me here? My 34 year old husband was diagnosed with a grade 2 Astrocytoma brain tumour March this year, one week after I gave birth to my second beautiful daughter.
We have 2 girls, 6 months & 3 years old.
He has always had a "unsteady hand", this has progressively got worse as he got older, so he saw a neurologist who thought it was a basic "essential tremor" but sent him for a MRI just in case.
This MRI found our terrible life changing news- A tumour that is the size of a golf ball & is in a terrible spot- right next to the thalamus & is growing down the brain stem.
So began the whirlwind of doctors visits, & the news that he could no longer work or drive. My husband, who worked away on the mines was now home, & had very limited independence.
After more MRI's including tracking, a biopsy was done & the neurosurgeon decided that operating is almost completely out of the question without causing serious side effects (loss of speech, movement etc)
We then saw an oncologist & he & the neurosurgeon decided with us to choose to see how it went as they think it has been growing since he was young, other than having a brain biopsy done a month after diagnosis.
Unfortunately, 6 months later- in the last month his symptoms have increased, therefore forcing us to take action, & start radiation in 2 weeks time.
I go through good & bad days like everyone, the bad days tend to coincide with his bad days- his days of intense rage & anger- which is super scary for me & especially for our 3 year old.
His tremor in his hand has increased so much that it shakes all night long- sometimes keeping me awake for hours.
