Good news today… The Piece of Shit has been behaving itself since we last gave it a look. We are so pleased that it is being so cooperative. My MRI this morning revealed two very important things. One… there has been no tumor growth. Two… my brain is still in there. Whew! What a relief. … Continue reading »
Please… Don’t tell us not to worry and don’t tell us it will be fine. Don’t tell us “you just know it will be ok” and don’t tell us not to stress out. Please don’t confuse our anxiety right now with desperation. Our anxiety appreciates your support over your pity. We’ve been down this road, running this fucking MRI marathon, for … Continue reading »
A month of anniversaries, life altering events and haunting memories. While the physical and emotional wounds have long ago healed over, they’ve left behind jagged, deep scars. The increasingly hefty serving of gratitude, humility, perspective and mortality gets harder to swallow each year. A month where the weight of our reality is simply difficult to … Continue reading »
I remember clear blue skies, warm air and feeling carefree. I remember having no fear. I remember the patients in the waiting room and the litany of questions from the PA as he looked at my scans. I remember feeling ambivalent and wondering why I needed to be there. I remember the surgeon. I remember … Continue reading »
Just in case you missed the news, May is Brain Tumor Awareness month. Like other patients facing cancers, horrid and catastrophic diseases who have months of awareness, the brain tumor community has carved out our own 31 days on the schedule too. So here we are… May 1, 2012. 30 more days to go. Rather than spending a month spewing out facts, figures, emerging research and statistics, I’d … Continue reading »
In a recent on camera interview I was posed a question I never saw coming. As the words came out, one by one, forming the sentence and posing the question, the hair on the back of my neck rose. My pulse quickened and my chest got tight. Shit! I thought. Fight. Fight back the tears. … Continue reading »
I saw him sitting on the stairs, messing around with his brother and I grabbed my camera. Moans, groans and “Quit taking pictures MOM!” were audible as I came down the hall. I assured them it was not their faces I was interested in and they lost interest in what I was doing. I took … Continue reading »
We’re all waiting for something. Whether banal or earth shattering, each something we wait for means something meaningful to each of us. If there’s one thing I’ve learned writing this blog, it’s that while I write for me and my family, I’ve come to appreciate that what I write affects others. If I’m feeling something, … Continue reading »
We closed the door on another year and suffice to say, 2011 was momentous. Much of our lives were played out here in the blog. Open, raw, humorous and honest, I shared a lot. 72 posts were published in 2011 bringing the count of archive posts to 255. 255 posts taken from a Word document, … Continue reading »
Three years ago when I had surgery, I spent a few hundred dollars on a collection of beautiful silk scarves to wear. I’m sure some would’ve had courage to go without a scarf with a 4×6 inch section of hair shorn off, and I’d venture to say most would’ve had more self-confidence that I did too. However, for me it … Continue reading »
Today is a very exciting day. A day I’ve been watching on the horizon as it slowly made its way closer. As a patient, it’s a day I’ve eagerly awaited to arrive for what it represents and a moment I’ve been eager to see happen for selfish reasons. Reasons I hope never come to fruition, yet are a part of our reality, … Continue reading »
Below is the blog post I wrote for the CNN Human Factor piece that aired this morning. You can find it here as well. ******** June 20, 2007 we began living a new life. In a brief moment, the world stopped spinning and a resounding smack signaled the closure of the life we knew. Nothing … Continue reading »
CNN Giliberto , posted with vodpod Update: Below is the link that includes the blog entry on CNN.com http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/16/human-factor-brain-tumor-makes-today-more-meaningful/
