I was discharged from hospital yesterday but we stayed in London for an extra night to be close to the hospital, just in case. I have been feeling really well since the procedure and have been feeling up to getting out and doing things.
It was really nice to be able to spend some time in London with Dave and especially to meet up with Andy on Tuesday afternoon and evening - thank you so much Andy for taking the time to come all the way over from Midleton to see us - it has meant so much to us :)
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Monday, 28 May 2012
May 28th
This is Dave here updating the blog on what has been a busy day.
Sharon was in London today for treatment on the tumour found on her brain. She has been taking medication for over a week now to reduce the swelling around the tumour to make it possible to treat.
The good news is that a more detailed MRI scan on her head today showed that the swelling had reduced and confirmed that this tumour (although quite large) was the only one. She underwent a treatment called Gamma Knife this afternoon which entailed lying in a scanner type machine with a metal frame "attached" to her head. This enabled very precise targetting of the affected area with a large, single shot of radiotherapy.
We are grateful to Professor Lindquist and his amazing team for the way they looked after her today and also to all the nursing staff at the hospital who have been caring for her.
Sharon is staying on the ward overnight as a precaution and God-willing will be discharged in the morning once she has seen the Professor again. She is doing really well and in no additional discomfort right now.
Looking back on the day, although very tiring we can honestly say that things have gone as well as we could have hoped and give God the glory for that. Both Sharon and I are indebted to everyone who has been praying, sending texts, calls and thinking of her today. We are again blown away by the love shown by our amazing friends and family. Thank You too especially to Andrew & Orla who have stayed on in London to be with us.
Sharon was in London today for treatment on the tumour found on her brain. She has been taking medication for over a week now to reduce the swelling around the tumour to make it possible to treat.
The good news is that a more detailed MRI scan on her head today showed that the swelling had reduced and confirmed that this tumour (although quite large) was the only one. She underwent a treatment called Gamma Knife this afternoon which entailed lying in a scanner type machine with a metal frame "attached" to her head. This enabled very precise targetting of the affected area with a large, single shot of radiotherapy.
We are grateful to Professor Lindquist and his amazing team for the way they looked after her today and also to all the nursing staff at the hospital who have been caring for her.
Sharon is staying on the ward overnight as a precaution and God-willing will be discharged in the morning once she has seen the Professor again. She is doing really well and in no additional discomfort right now.
Looking back on the day, although very tiring we can honestly say that things have gone as well as we could have hoped and give God the glory for that. Both Sharon and I are indebted to everyone who has been praying, sending texts, calls and thinking of her today. We are again blown away by the love shown by our amazing friends and family. Thank You too especially to Andrew & Orla who have stayed on in London to be with us.
Sunday, 27 May 2012
May 27th
We have had an amazing weekend in London with Andrew & Orla :) We spent the weekend sightseeing around London, cruised down the Thames, did an open top bus tour, went to a show, walked around so many places in London & had a really fantastic time with them :) It has been so nice to spend time with them and to have a huge distraction from hospital tomorrow....thank you SO much guys for being here & especially for staying on an extra day :)
Thursday, 24 May 2012
May 24th
The good news is that I have been feeling much better this week - thankfully my headaches have stayed away so far and the medication seems to be working. I do have trouble sleeping at night with the steroids but the most important thing is that hopefully it's reducing the swelling.
I was back in London on Tuesday for my monthly treatment which went fine and the plan is now to go into hospital on Monday morning for gamma knife radiotherapy and stay overnight for at least one night. I'm not fully sure what it all entails but will see the specialist first thing on Monday to go through it with us.
In the meanwhile, we are SO looking forward to seeing Andrew & Orla over the weekend. They booked a trip over here a couple of months ago & we are really looking forward to spending the weekend looking around London, seeing the sights & taking our minds off Monday :) Can't wait!! We are planning to go down to London tomorrow and staying until Wednesday afternoon.
Saturday, 19 May 2012
May 19th
We are at the end of a very tough and difficult week this week! We are at the end of a full week of trips to London - on Tuesday for an MRI scan of my brain and a CT scan of my body. They called us back in on Wednesday for a consultation and said that they had found a number of things;
- Firstly, the oral chemotherapy that they have been giving me for the last 2 months hasn't helped with controlling the disease in my lungs. While it is continuing to grow, it hasn't grown dramatically and they have other drugs that they know know should be much more effective in combating it so they hope to start that in a few weeks time.
- Secondly, they discovered that the breast cancer tumour has now spread to my brain. Obviously, this was quite an alarming message to get but they said that it is treatable. The have referred me to the Cromwell Hospital in London where I will see a specialist in Gamma Knife Radiotherapy. In the meanwhile, they have taken me off the horrible painkillers the GP gave me and put me on steroids to reduce the inflammation around the brain.
- On Thursday morning we got a call to ask us to be in London for 1pm to see the consultant. I am amazed by how quickly they all work together here and how quickly they saw us! The consultant is a specialist from Sweden and works in the UK every 2nd week. He went through the options of surgery, Gamma Knife radiotherapy and also doing Gamma Knife followed by surgery. Their plan at the moments is to reduce the swelling over the next 10 days and bring me in for radiotherapy on the 28th May, and stay in for 1 or 2 nights.
In the midst of the difficulty there are a number of good points coming through, sometimes there are a number of spots on the brain but this one seems to be quite localised. They have checked my optic nerve and it looks like there's no issues with this so assuming the headaches are controlled and the swelling stays down, we will go ahead on the 28th. And also they said that the inflammation was quite large but the tumour itself isn't that big. When we were back in Cork at Easter we sat down with my brother & his wife and planned a weekend in London for the 25th to the 28th - we are just amazed by the timing of this and how it's all worked out!!
While this is such a difficult time, we are continually surrounded by love and care from so many people and we appreciate it all so much. Thank you!
- Firstly, the oral chemotherapy that they have been giving me for the last 2 months hasn't helped with controlling the disease in my lungs. While it is continuing to grow, it hasn't grown dramatically and they have other drugs that they know know should be much more effective in combating it so they hope to start that in a few weeks time.
- Secondly, they discovered that the breast cancer tumour has now spread to my brain. Obviously, this was quite an alarming message to get but they said that it is treatable. The have referred me to the Cromwell Hospital in London where I will see a specialist in Gamma Knife Radiotherapy. In the meanwhile, they have taken me off the horrible painkillers the GP gave me and put me on steroids to reduce the inflammation around the brain.
- On Thursday morning we got a call to ask us to be in London for 1pm to see the consultant. I am amazed by how quickly they all work together here and how quickly they saw us! The consultant is a specialist from Sweden and works in the UK every 2nd week. He went through the options of surgery, Gamma Knife radiotherapy and also doing Gamma Knife followed by surgery. Their plan at the moments is to reduce the swelling over the next 10 days and bring me in for radiotherapy on the 28th May, and stay in for 1 or 2 nights.
In the midst of the difficulty there are a number of good points coming through, sometimes there are a number of spots on the brain but this one seems to be quite localised. They have checked my optic nerve and it looks like there's no issues with this so assuming the headaches are controlled and the swelling stays down, we will go ahead on the 28th. And also they said that the inflammation was quite large but the tumour itself isn't that big. When we were back in Cork at Easter we sat down with my brother & his wife and planned a weekend in London for the 25th to the 28th - we are just amazed by the timing of this and how it's all worked out!!
While this is such a difficult time, we are continually surrounded by love and care from so many people and we appreciate it all so much. Thank you!
May 11th
While I was away, I started to get some bad headaches - especially in the mornings. We thought maybe it was pressure headaches or migraines but once we came back on Wednesday they still kept going.
By Friday I called the hospital and they arranged some tests and scans for next week to see if they can get to the bottom of it. In the meanwhile, the GP has put me on some painkillers and they are really wiping me out - I feel like I've just been completely spaced out! Hopefully I don't need to stay on them too long :)
May 1st
We have been back in London for my monthly treatment today, staying overnight and then heading to Switzerland for a week with Paul & Pami and the girls - really looking forward to catching up with them, following up on our ski trip and enjoying Switzerland :)
April 25th
Having come back from holiday and read through all the posts and prayers that have been going on around the world, we are even more amazed as it has become so real to us how many people are loving us and caring for us. We thank you all so much and sit here amazed by how many people are supporting us in such an amazing and practical way. We feel incredibly blessed to be surrounded by people who care for us so much and sit here in tears at the comments & thoughts from so many people. We know that the Lord has heard you all and know that despite what's happening we are still surrounded by His love - once again Thank You is far too inadequate a word but it is very heartfelt.
April 22nd
Wow! What an amazing day it has been! We have been SO encouraged by the Prayer Day that Charis has set up for us and are totally overwhelmed & humbled by everyone's love and care for us. How amazing to see comments from churches, friends, family and people we don't even know from all over the world! We are very encouraged right now to know how many peoples are with us right now and as we sit at the pool in Gran Canaria we are surrounded by love and peace from all corners of the world. We are truly blessed - Thank you to everyone!!
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