New to this, so hopefully it works out and makes some sense... :/
I'm trying to deal with the loss my mum in August, so thought maybe making it into a story might help.
This is a story of a lady asked to cope with 2 cancers in one lifetime, but couldn't (wouldn't?). In the end it became too much.
It all started when I was maybe a year/ 18 months. She woke up on the floor of the kitchen and was violently sick. When she called the doctor, he said it sounded like a seizure and go to the hospital quick. Long story short, MRI showed a brain tumour which in turn caused epilepsy. She had 3 operations to try and take as much as they could. Because of where it was and how it was attached they could never get all of it. Each operation was 8-10 years apart. After the last one, they said the biopsy they sent off looked as it was starting to mutate and turn into a quicker growing tumour, so along came the radio therapy. 6 weeks of going to and from the hospital everyday (watford to central london). The progress was good, everyone was positive. Over the years, they were able to play with the medications, until she ended up with a cocktail: some for the tumour, some for epilepsy, and some for depression which seems to a common side effect of all of the above. This cocktail made her very tired.
A year or two back, we started noticing slight changes in her behaviour. Before, she was relatively all things considered, positive, willing to help anybody. At my grandmothers 90th last year, we had a big family party, middle of summer, out in the garden. She was more withdrawn, a lot more snappy. Very impatient. One of the only signs of her old self was when she held her new great nephew, then 6 months. Theres a great photo of them looking at each other adoringly.
That December she was admitted to hospital as she would not wake up, would space out more than usual, and barely ate. Turned out her Hb was low and needed a transfusion. The next day, another one. No matter how many were given, she couldn't keep her red blood cells up. After many tests, the results came back as a type of lymphoma. Chemo was started straight away with good effect. However, shortly more tests showed that the original Lymphoma had changed to a different kind - i can't remember which way it was. I think the second was mantle cell...?
To be continued as I have just finished a night shift and ready to sleep.
