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READ MOREPublished on May 12, 2020 in Share Your Story
It was a Saturday and some of our grandkids had spent the night with us. Our life changed in an instant with one phone call and those fateful words saying our son Adam is here at the ER and the scan shows a huge brain tumor.
From that point forward our lives revolved around when the tumor was going to return. It consumed us and our son who was enduring recovery from excision of the tumor, chemo and radiation treatments. I had been a nurse for 30+ years and only knew of the grim prognosis that comes with a diagnosis of Glioblastoma. It was surreal when the doctor said our son had 2 years to live at most. Our son was 27.
Then it happened! I woke up one day determined to stop letting the tumor rule our lives. We needed to see the blessings even in the midst of all the darkness. My son needed hope to survive. I realized my son wasn’t living his life, he was preparing to die. He wasn’t putting the pieces back together. He was allowing the pieces to lay broken in the same spot where they fell when he heard he had the tumor. He had to pick up those pieces and put them back together.
I, as his mom, had to help him see his blessings. I researched for survivor stories and breakthrough clinical trials. These survivor stories became the only thing that kept us from falling back into the depths of despair. I shared every last story of hope with Adam and our family.
Survival became our focus. It was by chance that I came to find out about the beautiful soul that started Sparkle Bright. She was 4 years out from her initial diagnosis! Hearing about survivors on the internet was great but having direct access to an actual survivor that grew up in our area made our dream more of a reality!
Adam has now reached the infamous 2 year mark. He is completely healthy with no sign of return. He has started putting the pieces back together. He is now living his life to the fullest and focusing on the future. The greatest gift to a cancer patient and their family is HOPE. We now have hope!
Opinions expressed within this story belong solely to the author and do not reflect the views or opinions of the National Brain Tumor Society.