During August dad began physiotherapy, we have since been told that he has ataxia, which is a neurological issue that can be caused by a trauma or can just occur in some people. We believe this has been caused by the bleeding which happened when he was biopsied. It has been suggested that if he had received physiotherapy within three months of receiving this injury he may have made some progress towards recovery, but since over a year has passed it is unlikely that he will 'get better' and the best we can hope is that he will learn how to cope with his disabilities. Not long after his biopsy he became seriously ill so may not have managed to undertake an physio, but it is still disappointing that his problems now not only stem from the treatment he received, but that he may not have been so seriously ill had they then done something to counter the issue they caused.
It has become clear to me that disability caused by a biopsy undertaken in the brain seems to be a serious and relatively common side affect and although my dad signed a disclaimer, which mentioned this, I'm not sure he felt like there was any real chance of it happening.
So where do we stand? Dad has been very fortunate that the physiotherapist he saw at the little local hospital arranged for him to have daily physio for 6 weeks at home, but if I'm honest, he doesn't seem to have made any significant progress, although he is a little more stable. We must face the reality that dad will never be independent again since a trip to the bathroom needs someone to accompany him in case he falls. This is a terrifying prospect as I am 300 miles away, Pete has just moved to Bristol so is 200 miles away and to make matters worse Lucy's husband has been posted to Lincoln which is 350 miles away so all 3 of dad's children are now too far away to be any real support. He is looking to get a companion to live in to help out and, while he is grateful to have survived an illness that should have killed him, the future is not nearly so positive as we had all hoped.
Once again both dad and I would like to thank you all for your positive comments and kindness throughout his illness and subsequent recovery.
15th September - the aftermath
28th June - Good News At Last
Dad saw his consultant today and was told some excellent news.....according to the specialist, dad's tumour has not shrunk....it's gone altogether!
This means that his weakness and lack of balance, as well as other symptoms are all due to damage from the steriods and biopsy and therefore will get better with lots of physio. More importantly, without the tumour he won't get any worse so from here on up, the only way is up!
I'm so happy right now, if a little emotional so forgive me for the short message!
x
24th June - Post Radiotherapy
I haven't posted for a while for the simple reason I didn't know what to say - dad has been in the local community hospital for about a month and we were all feeling incredibly pessimistic about the future. He has been slowly declining in terms of his general health and so when he was sent to Treliske for his last set of scans we were all prepared for the worst.
Somehow, however, we have had good news back and have been told that the radiotherapy has led the the tumour shrinking - this has surprised and amazed us all and we are now working towards dad coming home from hospital, albeit with a lot of care in place. The good news seems to have given him the kick up the backside he needed and he has begun to speak more clearly and become more enthusiastic about trying out physiotherapy in order to become more independent - this is particularly important now that Pete is off to uni in September and it is highly likely that we will need to find some sort of live in care for him, unless there are significant improvements in the next two months.
Nevertheless it is great to have some good news and we are all smiling and optimistic!
Anyway, thank you, as always, for all of your love and support
Catherine
PS http://hisnhersfood.blogspot.co.uk/
23rd March - radiotherapy over
A little update - dad has just finished 4 weeks of radiotherapy. He is weak and wobbly - speech is bad, balance is bad and strength is bad, but somehow we were expecting worse. He's glad it's over and he still has all his hair! We won't know for a few weeks if it's actually made any difference, but at least round one is done.
7th March - Radiotherapy
Dear readers,
Just a quick update to let you know that dad is halfway through his second week of a 4 week course of radiotherapy. We suspect this will be "kill or cure" and I will give you more information when I can. We've been told he will get much worse before he gets better and he's already found he's a lot weaker since starting.
Thank you again for your kind words and thoughts
Catherine
15th January - 3 Million Views!!
Dear all,
Dad has asked me to write a quick note to share that between the various blog sites he has clocked up 3 million views, which is pretty impressive!
Thank you all for your emails of support after our Christmas post and I will update you further when I can.
Catherine
