Two hours later, the nurse rounded the corner from the CT scanning room with a distraught look on her face. I will never forget the feeling in my heart, as I knew, at this point, that something was terribly wrong.
The doctor wheeled Rob over to the white board to show us the scans. “We see something in Rob’s head that we don’t like to see.” When he turned on the light behind the white board, an image that will always remain sketched in my brain showed up on the scan. An orange-sized mass was clearly visible. Even with the untrained medical eye, there was no denying that something huge and infiltrating was in my husband’s brain.
“What is that?” I asked.
The doctor responded, “We don’t know yet.” The walls instantly started caving in. I remember the doctor saying words, but I can’t remember to this day what was said. The next thing I knew, a nurse was standing over me, putting a cold cloth on my head. Here I was, the WIFE of the patient … and I had passed out. My darling husband, Rob, was also standing over me, asking if I was all right. When I finally came to, we were sent by ambulance to St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City. More images, including MRI pictures, had to be taken before surgical procedures could begin.
I don’t remember much about the next few days. Words like tumor, cancer, side effects, and surgery came rushing past my ears like a stormy ocean wave. Somehow we managed to inform family and friends of our situation. People came through for us when we needed them most. Meals were cooked, phone calls were made, insurance approvals were obtained and, best of all, our two young children were taken care of.
The surgical team operated on Rob’s tumor on January 16, 2003. Looking out the window of the hospital ICU waiting room, I remember asking myself, “How am I going to be a single mom at the age of thirty-three? How will my kids, then three and five years old, be able to go on without their daddy?” The fear that accompanies the diagnosis of a brain tumor is inconceivable. Fortunately, the doctors were able to remove “as much of the brain tumor as they could see.” The diagnosis was that of a Grade II oligoastrocytoma brain tumor.
PREVIOUS PAGE
