Patient Story - Living with a brain tumor

I kept falling. I couldn't get out of the car. I was forgetting even how to get in my own vehicle 'cause this leg, my husband noticed this leg was dragging. I just didn't feel right. I was at St. Francis Hospital and they sent me down for a CAT scan. They told me to wait and that's when they told me that I had a brain tumor. They called up St. John's to find a neurologist and I was admitted. I had two surgeries back to back. I opened my eyes, I seen a nurse that I'd known since she was a little girl who lived in the neighborhood, and I started crying. It was so nice to see a familiar face. - After her first surgery, she could not speak for a few days. Now she talks just like me, better than me. She had half the treatment done already with radiation treatment and her symptoms improved a lot. At first she couldn't walk, now she can walk. And now she can use her arms freely. We actually emphasize quality of life. So we try to maintain quality of life from the treatments. So we have several goals. Now she's doing really well and she's very happy but the prognosis is still very guarded. - Each day I try something new and I have walked by myself. I still might need a little more, but I walked by myself with a therapist that comes to the house. Everybody's good to me.