I’ve been a carer for my wonderful younger brother for my adult life, and we moved in together during lockdown for company. Then in 2022, at the age of 50, I had a seizure and was diagnosed with a stage 4 astrocytoma.
A few months of recovery from the craniotomy, then my brother died of COVID complications. I’m largely writing this for him - he was immune compromised and was physically disabled by childhood arthritis, but never let it stop him from loving his life. (There’s a dedication to him at the end of the third Guardians of the Galaxy film, for his VFX work!)
He has helped me so much to deal with my own condition, because we always knew we wouldn’t have him for long, but we loved every minute of it. That’s how I want to live my last days/months/years. Not pretending that it doesn’t suck - I’m lucky to have friends who can talk honestly and openly about my death - but trying not to make that the focus of my life. For my mum especially, who is dealing amazingly with this massive body blow.
There’s still a lot to do, to learn, to experience, and I don’t want to waste it. I’m sitting here drinking coffee with my cat Leela (actually my brother’s cat 
️), and this is a precious moment. I’m also sending love to everyone in this community, whether they know it or not xxx
