We Have What?

It is a beautiful day to go for a motorcycle ride with friends. We all gather at the local motorcycle shop and head out toward Bass Lake, CA. We are riding along, and I feel the temperature getting warmer as the morning goes on. Once we arrived at our destination, we had to find parking for all of our bikes (approx 10) and drove around a couple of times as the parking lot was small. Finally found everyone a place. We all go in and enjoy a nice lunch overlooking the lake and all the individuals enjoying their day on the lake. After we were all done with lunch, we headed back to our bikes. Since it was such a beautiful day, my husband and I decided to keep going up to Yosemite. We arrive after the longer-than-anticipated ride due to others thinking of going to Yosemite also. 

We go into one of the little stores and get ourselves something to drink, and find a nice quiet and shady place to just sit down. He actually proceeds to fall asleep, which he never does. I wake him up and suggest we start getting on the road home. We head out of Yosemite around all of the curves in the road, in and out of the shade. The weather cools as we are just about to drive into the garage. With both of us relaxed after a nice day, we started out with a group riding to give a little time to ourselves. 

Each of us goes to work the next day as usual. BANG, life changed!! I received a phone call at work I didn’t recognize and let it go to voicemail. The number ends up leaving a message. I retrieve the message, and the person goes on to say he is a physician at the hospital in the town my husband works at. He proceeds to ask me questions about my husband’s health. All the while, I think I am dreaming. What and why is this person calling and being so easy asking me these questions? I receive another call, this one from his boss at work. His boss proceeded to say your husband has been transported to Memorial Hospital. He just wasn’t acting normal, and we thought maybe he was having a stroke. 

Back to the physician’s call, we think your husband may have a tumor in his head! Wait, what?!?! Yes, ma’am, if you could please come on down to the hospital. I quickly left my job, which I had just started one month prior. I head out into Interstate 99, going way too fast than I should have been. Arrived at the hospital to see his boss, who explained to me what happened, and I just wanted to get back to my husband. I thank his boss, and they say follow us, and we will take you back. I finally get down the long hallways (they seemed like two football fields long, and they really aren’t), and I finally get to my husband and just hug him while he is talking to the nurse. 

OK, something is definitely wrong — he isn’t talking right. He is not knowing who I really am, and when asked what was in the picture they were showing him, he couldn’t name it. I just burst out in tears as this is not the husband. I just kissed and said, “Love you babe, see you later, have a safe drive to work!!” Cruise five days forward, and the neurosurgeon says we have successfully taken out a walnut-size tumor in your husband’s head!!! Long recovery and now waiting to see if it is benign or not. 

He has lots of swelling in his brain, and after a week in the hospital and neurology tests, he is able to go home. We wait now for those results, and as we wait, we start to worry about the life we had planned for the future. Finally, the neurosurgeon calls and wants to schedule an appointment. OK, first off, when they say they want an appointment with us started out wrong, if it was nothing, I’m sure they would have just told us on the phone. We arrive at our appointment and are escorted to a back room with a very serene setting waterfall, a couch, and essential oils burning. This can’t be good, I tell myself. A neurosurgeon comes in and brings up the results of the tumor. “You have grade 4 glioblastoma. I’m sorry.” Wait, did I just hear you right, grade 4!? I just busted out in tears; our life instantly changed!!! 

Move 15 months forward, 30 sessions of chemo and radiation out MEIs stay stable. OK, we think we are going to be that very low percentage that will survive this!!! I receive another call at work stating that my husband just was rushed to the hospital as he has had a couple of seizures! I get on Interstate 99 again, going faster than I should be I arrive at the hospital and, after four hours and calls to me girlfriend, who is an emergency nurse asking if she was working as I need to get in to see my husband. She wasn’t working; however, she contacted someone in the ER, and they finally came to get me. Omg, why is he tied down??? The nurse starts to say we are taking him for a test. All of a sudden I heard….assistance needed, I knew it was my husband. Yes, he started to go into another grand mal seizure!!! We are able to leave after another week in the hospital. 

Fast forward to a month later, I get yet another call from his work….Lonnie is on his way to the ER. We found him unconscious. Again, fly down Interstate 99 arrive at the hospital, and look at my husband. His left eye is completely closed, and they are performing stroke protocols on him. Wait, what!? We just had seizures less than a month ago!? MRI complete… yes, definite stroke. Now onto new medication… the day after we got home, we received a call from his oncologist stating that the new chemo medication had side effects of strokes. However, the MRI did show improvement on the tumor just after one chemo injection of Avastin. We have to make the decision of whether or not to continue with Avastin. We decided to continue as there was an improvement in the tumor. We are currently waiting for our Optune device to come next Friday. And life continues to go on! Never take a day for granted, say I love you before you go to bed, and say I love you before you leave anywhere!!! Tomorrow is never promised, and we have been so lucky to continue having those tomorrows for now and will enjoy each and every day we have each other!

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