GBM with Dignity

My brother, Erik, was diagnosed with glioblastoma in May 2019 after experiencing numbness and tingling in his left arm. He thought the numbness and tingling was a simple pinched nerve, so we were all surprised to learn he had brain cancer.

Erik lived a fairly normal life post-surgery and treatment — he went back to working in his beloved Maine woods. He took my nieces to Sweden, enjoyed many a summer night on his boat with his dog Sula and simply kept living his life. After several months there was an illusion that things had gone back to normal. Aside from regular MRIs and the reality of a GBM looming over everyone’s heads-it seemed possible that Erik might actually beat this.

In July of 2020, he started having seizures. The scans didn’t show anything so his medications were changed, and we went back to trying to enjoy summer. It was the September 2020 scan that slapped us back into reality when the tumor showed back up exactly where it had been before.

In October 2020, my brother utilized Maine’s death with dignity act to end his life. The reality of dying from brain cancer wasn’t something something he wanted, for himself or for his loved ones. Erik died peacefully at home the day after his 50th birthday. While the brain cancer changed Erik, it never got the chance to destroy him. In fact, just hours before he took his final medications , we were out in his woods getting lessons on how to drive his logging equipment. Erik felt lucky to have the option to end his suffering on his terms and before GBM took away his ability to live a full life and be independent.

Erik Carlson 10/29/1970-10/30/2020

TAGGED WITH: #GBMDay

Opinions expressed within this story belong solely to the author and do not reflect the views or opinions of the National Brain Tumor Society.