My Wife Renee’s GBM Journey

My wife Renee’s GBM Journey

Matthew

The story of our journey with my wonderful wife Renee’s GBM started on March 11 2014. Renee had just some very vague symptoms. Slight tremor and a slight pause in her speech occasionally. Never a headache or seizure. She just seemed out of sorts. We had lost our only child a little over a year before to a drowning accident in her swimming pool. I thought Renee was depressed because of our loss. I decided to take her to our local ED and get checked out. Our lives changed forever on that date. CT scan showed so much swelling the tumor was not visible. Subsequently Renee had a biopsy at another hospital and MRI which showed the right temporal tumor. Biopsy came back GBM grade 4 inoperable. We went a week later for a 2nd opinion at a Los Angeles hospital and she was operated on a week later with almost total resection of tumor. Renee needed a vp shunt placement and ended up mostly paralyzed on her left side arm and leg. Renee did the standard radiation 6 weeks with temazolomide each day. Renee took 4 cycles of 5 days temazolomide per month. She endured all this with a wonderful smile all the time. I took care of my beloved wife the whole time and got great joy in doing so. Renee was in the local hospital here for dehydration and was progressing well. I observed her have a seizure there on the evening before she was to go home. She was transferred to the Los Angeles hospital where her neurosurgeon is. Renee never woke up. I took her home on hospice care and she passed away on Feb. 5th 2015. 11 months after diagnosis. I miss my wife tremendously and will love her forever. She was my very best Friend.

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