Yet another problem

[Eddy Matthews]

Hi all,

We have another problem in the Matthews household.... First a bit of history to put things into perspective. It will all become clear later, so bear with me!

Roz, my wife, has suffered from epilepsy since she was about 16 - That has never been very well controlled, so she's had literally thousands of falls, broken bones, head injuries, burns and scalds over the years. The epilepsy settled down about 4 years ago, for no apparent reason, and she's been seizure free for about 3 years. She also suffers for a condition called ataxia, which means her balance is poor and she often slurs her words (much like she's drunk). And finally, she had cervical cancer 15 months ago, which resulted in a radical hysterectomy and radio therapy to cure it....

Over the last few weeks she has been slurring her words more and more, and struggling to find words - So much so that it has often been difficult to understand what she's trying to say. She has been getting more and more confused. Last thursday she had a small seizure, and on friday she had a massive seizure, the worst I've ever seen her take in over 40 years!

I was getting very concerned so after a trip to our GP, who could find nothing obvious wrong, I rang Roz's neurologist - And we got an appoinment for monday (yesterday).

He listened patiently to everything I had to say as Roz was unable to tell him much.... He examined her, and then sent her for blood tests and an MRI scan. At that point we were called back in to see the neurologist. He then told us that Roz had a brain tumour - At this point we don't know if it's something totally new, or if it's her previous cancer which has spread...

Roz was admitted to hospital immediately, and they plan on giving her steroids to shrink the growth in her brain. They will do a series of tests to determine if it's spread of her previous cancer or not. Then it will be decided if any action is possible - At the least it will mean major brain surgery, but if it's a spread of her cancer then things don't look very good....

Needless to say this has been devastating news, and for the foreseeable future I'll be spending my time running backwards and forwards to hospital. So if I'm not around as much as usual, or I seem a bit abrupt, please bear with me - As I'm sure you can all imagine, I have lots on my mind right now!

I'll post further news as and when I find out what's happening from the neurologists, and we can only hope that my current rather doom and gloom thoughts are unfounded...

Regards
Eddy

[lenknight]

Eddy,
I am so sorry for your beloved wife and yourself, I really do not know what say, other than my problem health wise re my wife and I seem to dim into nothing.
I write this with tears in my eyes, how cruel can the world be to some, that are good, and try to help. I long time lost faith in the almighty with suffering in my family, alone the world!
I will plug for you both in my way, I cannot write anymore, bless you both.
Len.
 

[Walter Snowdon]

WHAT CAN ANYONE SAY THAT HAS ANY MEANING?.  Ive told Ian Les and Bob and will pass the message on at the club. If there is ANYTHING we can do dont hesitate- we are all rooting for you and Roz. Dont worry about Waverley trip- Bob is cancelling so one less thing to think of. All the very best, Walter.

[pete]

I am so sorry to hear your news.
Please accept my sincere best wishes for you both.
Pete.

[neil howard-pritchard]

god bless you Eddy, and i think i can say from us all take care

[derekwarner_decoy]

Eddy......I have been interstate for 14 days without the Internet.....our thoughts from OZ are with you & your family....Derek

[Eddy Matthews]

Many thanks for all the kind words, they certainly help!

Today my wife was due to go for a chest and abdominal scan - She was given a contrast dye to drink this morning prior to the scans, but at that point she knocked the canula out of her hand which is needed for further injections during the scan. The doctors were unable to find another vein, and by the time they did, it was too late for the scan as the contrast dye would have already passed through her system.

They cannot give her another dose of the contrast fluid until 24hrs have passed, so now we have to wait until tomorrow for the scans to be done

So yet another day to wait until we start to get some definite news

Regards
Eddy

[PeeWee]

What can one say, other than my thoughts and prayers are wouth you and your family.

[Eddy Matthews]

Roz (my wife), had her chest and abdominal scans done yesterday, and I managed to have a word with her neurologist...

He started by saying that the scans didn't show any obvious signs of further tumours, so I was just starting to feel a bit brighter thinking that was good news..... He then made it clear that he still felt the brain tumour was a secondary caused by her previous cancer scare a year ago. So things still look fairly grim

We now have to wait until next week to be referred to a neuro-surgeon - He will then decide if any treatment is possible. At this time we don't even know if it's possible to do a biopsy, nevermind surgery.... The tumour is on the left side of her brain, in the area that controls speech, rational thought, intellect and personality. So it may be too dangerous to operate on it?

Roz is still very confused, and insists that she is okay, constantly asking me to take her home - Which is very upsetting. Because of the pressure in her brain, she cannot understand what is wrong.

So now we have yet more waiting...... I'm starting to get very emotional (again!) writing this, so it's time to wipe away the tears and go and calm down. But once again, we thank everyone for their support and understanding.

Regards
Eddy

[Eddy Matthews]

No real news on Roz just yet.... She's had a chest and abdominal scan done, and they were clear. Yesterday she had a mamogram, and I hope the neuro-surgeon will examine those this morning. Then we might start to get some answers?

We still don't know if any treatment is possible, or even if it's a spread of her previous cancer. I have to admit that all this waiting is starting to get VERY frustrating!

Yesterday I had to break the news to my eldest daughter - Up until then she only knew that her mum was in hospital for a few tests.... That was perhaps the most difficult conversation I've ever had! Of course there were tears (from both of us!), but she took it surprisingly well. I didn't hold any punches as she had to know the whole truth, but I did choose my words VERY carefully so I didn't paint a picture of total doom and gloom.

So now we wait again......

Regards
Eddy

[Eddy Matthews]

Got back from seeing the neuro-surgeon earlier today - Not good news

Surgery has been ruled out as it would almost certainly result in permanent brain damage due to the size and location of the tumour. Even if Roz was able to undergo surgery, her confused state would make follow up radio-therapy a none starter....

So bottom line is she probably has significantly less than one year to live...

What more can I say? I'm absolutely devastated!

Eddy

[lenknight]

Eddy,
How do I express myself over your sad news, my heart is with you, words cannot express my sadness for you both. Chin up, and hope things will be better than diagnosed, sorry mate.
My kind regards, Len

[Eddy Matthews]

Thanks Len, and to everyone else that has either emailed me or sent a PM on the forum.

I'm afraid I don't have a lot to say at the moment, as I'm still getting my head around the latest news. I've never felt so totally damned useless and helpless as I feel right now!

Eddy

[Eddy Matthews]

I went to visit my wife today, and it was a real pleasure to see her very bright and cheerful - Much better than she's been for the last week or so. She's still very confused, and we often have the same conversation dozens of times, but just to see her smile and have a bit of a laugh and a joke made things so much better....

Hopefully I'll see one of the doctors tomorrow so I can get answers to my million questions, and arrange for Roz to come home.

Once again, my sincere thanks for everyones support.

Regards
Eddy

[Eddy Matthews]

Well, good news and bad news.....

I had hoped that I would see Professor Kane today, the neuro surgeon, but he was tied up with meetings all day and couldn't fit me in

But I got a phonecall from the ward that my wife is on, and she can come home until next wednesday - The downside is that they wouldn't let her come home unless I had a bed for her downstairs. Fortunately we have a large hallway which normally has a dining table in it, so there's space for a bed. I had to take the table and chairs out into the garden and burn them, as I had no other way to quickly dispose of them..... Then a mad dash round various stores to find someone that could not only supply a single bed, but also deliver it tomorrow (a bank holiday!).... I eventually got one company that would do it (at a price!), so the credit card has been hit yet again!!

And I have also now fixed an appointment to see Professor Kane and Mr Dunlop (the oncologist), for next wednesday - So hopefully we can get some definite answers!

So for the first time in almost a month I'll have my three girls (wife and two daughters) at home!

Eddy