Mum's recovery...

Since the post about my Mum's brain tumour diagnosis, a lot has happened. The past two weeks have felt more like two months, which always seems to be the case in these sort of situations. 

I write with positive news about my Mum. Thankfully. Today we had confirmation that her tumour was benign. This is the best news possible. She still has a few tests to undergo to identify the cause (sporadic or genetic related) but that's less important right now. I want to embrace the positive news and never let it go.

My Mum has made quite an astonishing recovery; both psychologically and physically. After many hours on life support after surgery, she regained consciousness, sat up, started on some banter with the nurses and wolfed down a massive portion of lasagne. In the words of mother "well, I haven't eaten in months" (which was not too far from the truth). It was all a little baffling to be honest, but we embraced mother's fighting spirit and ignorance towards what she had just endured. She was back with us and that was all that mattered right there and then. 

She was quickly moved out of ICU and transitioned through a high observation ward and back into the original ward she was admitted into. Each and every day there was some improvement either to her walking ability, memory, or concentration. Four days post surgery was when I recognised the mum I have always known and loved - she was back!

I feel like we are one of the very lucky families. Everything has worked out for the best. What are the odds of that? It's testament to the Neurosurgery team in Hull Royal Infirmary - they were truly fantastic; from the surgeons to the tea ladies. I think my mum secretly enjoyed her stay in hospital but she would never admit that... Who would?

My mum is now home and continuing well with her recovery. I feel a little sad that I won't see my mum every day, but I just have to accept that. I know she's only a phone call away and that will be enough to alleviate any pangs of worry I may experience. 

Many people have asked how we all coped during that time and it's something I'm still working out. Initial thoughts center around resilience, focusing only on the present (and not what might happen), being positive, retaining a sense of humour and drinking wine! As a psychologist I recognise it's much more complex than that and plan to look into this in more detail (that's the geek in me).

For now I leave you with the only physical reminder of mum's surgery. Look away if you're at all squeamish... Apologies in advance!

S

xoxo

20 staples (and a bit of bruising)

A life changing week...

The last week has been the toughest week of my life. On Friday 30th January my mum went into hospital for a CT scan as she's been very unwell since Christmas. My mum has since not left hospital.

Maw in law (left) and my mum (right)

Most of last year my mum had complained of a constant headache, which seemed to get worse as the year progressed. She began to get dizzy which got progressively worse too. She'd had vertigo four years ago and the doctors and specialists thought it was a recurrence of the vertigo; us included. Her ability to balance and walk declined quite rapidly after my wedding and she began to be sick on NYE, which had never happened before. She was given a plethora of drugs, diagnosed with vestibular migraine and discharged.

In the following week an appointment letter arrived for the CT scan, which we were pleased about as my mum's symptoms did not seem to be improving. I live down south and my parents live up north, so I decided to attend the CT scan appointment and I'm so glad I did.

After her CT scan we were asked to wait as the Consultant wanted to see her. Yeah, that was the moment I knew something wasn't right. The Consultant confirmed that the scan showed something abnormal and that they would need to keep her in. My mother had been diagnosed with a brain tumour. Surreal!

In the last seven days my Mum has been diagnosed, had the tumour removed, been on life support in intensive care, regained consciousness and got back on her feet and pleased all the consultants, nurses and physios no end. She's a tough ole' northern bird!

That said, it's not to be underestimated the potential challenges ahead on her road to recovery. Having a brain tumour can be a life changing event and we are yet to know her prognosis - more torturous waiting ahead. Here's hoping she progresses as well as she has done the past three days.

I'm still trying to process what exactly has happened during the past seven days, so plan to blog more on this, particularly how it affects immediate family, how to cope with such news and how to support one another, and I'm really keen to blog about her road to recovery too. Watch this space...

The Family

I hope you all have a great week ahead and one that is filled with family, love, fun and laughter.
Shones
xoxo

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