The Results
This waiting game SUCKS!! How do you live your everyday life when you have possible death looming over your heads. All I have to say is my parents are super strong faithful people. Right from the day Dad found out he had a tumour he has said that he will fight as long and as hard as he can and the Good Lord will take care of the rest.
If I remember correctly they got the call on Wednesday that a Zoom call was scheduled for 130pm on Friday June 11th. Somehow the pins and needles get sharper when you have a deadline to the answers you are searching for. The thing is, Dad does not look sick. His incision is completely healed, his quality of life is 100%, his sense of humour has not been effected at all...he is the same Helmut Neufeld that he was May 28th before all hell broke loose, he just happens to have a monster that has decided to take up residence in his head!
I went to work on Friday like any normal day, basically just to keep my mind busy. Around 1pm I went home just incase the news was bad so I was not alone. Sitting and waiting for me was extremely difficult so I can't imagine how Mom and Dad felt. At 230 they finally called me and all I heard was "well it is not good news at all, the worst news ever"! It was Mom with Dad in the background..."Dad has Grade 4 Glioblastoma, the worst Brain Cancer there is, inoperable and his prognosis is 9-12 months!" He will be starting Chemo and Radiation on July 5th for 3 weeks straight!
NOT MY DAD! He is suppose to live forever...I told him 3 months ago that he had to live til he was 100 so by my calculations he has 28 more years to go! As a Daddy's girl the news was probably the most shocking news I have ever received. BUT, I had to stop thinking about my own broken heart and be strong for my parents, especially my Dad. He and I are criers, I had to make sure to do that on my own and not around him...he doesn't need to see me cry!
There was an appointment set up for Monday morning where Dad had to get a cage fitted to his head that will be use every time he goes for radiation. The nurse said to Dad on the phone that he would have to go to his appointments by himself due to COVID...lets just say that didn't go over well with Mom and she put her foot down and told them in no uncertain terms that she was his Proxy and that she would be going with him to his appointments. The nurse asked if Dad was confused and Mom said that he was especially when it comes to medical. So the nurse agreed and Mom is allowed to accompany Dad to all his appointments and treatments.
On Monday June 14th, they headed to Winnipeg to meet with the Tumour Doctor as well as have a tour of Cancer Care and meet the rest of the team. When Dad met the Doctor he told him in no uncertain terms that he needed to change his prognosis from 9-12 months to 9-12 years. With that the Dr said he would give Dad a 5% chance to live for 5 years...Dad's response "well you don't know me and you are not being very optimistic!" That is the fighting attitude that he has! That in itself will take him far in this journey. Dad was then fitted for his cage. The cage looks like the one pictured below (I can't post the picture of his but it looks like these).
When the Doctor met Dad he said he wasn't expecting such a strong healthy man and asked Dad if he was willing to do 6 weeks of treatment instead of just 3 weeks. Dad agreed so starting July 5th he will be getting Radiation 5 days a week and Chemo in pill form for 7 days a week. It is going to be intense but if anyone can get through it Dad can! Now to figure out where they will stay while in the city!
People have been asking for the Go Fund Me Link so I am going to post it at the end of each post. Any monies that are raised that Mom and Dad do not use for medical expenses will be donated and paid forward to another important cause. We want to thank everyone in advance for their support.
Go Fund Me Link:
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