11. It all happened so quickly.
About a month ago I woke up in the middle of the night with the worst headache. I ran to the bathroom to get sick, and that made it even worse. I couldn’t even lie still in bed, I just writhed around in pain. This was a Saturday morning.
The headache stayed all day Saturday, all day Sunday, all day Monday. Monday afternoon I finally went to the doctor. He gave me IV fluids, and a couple of steroid shots. I felt better, and went home.
I had just recently had an unrelated surgery, and I had spent a week vomiting just about everything I ate or drank from the anesthesia. I thought the headaches were from me being dehydrated from all this.
Tuesday morning the headache came right back. I went to the doctor, and he ordered a CT scan of my head. There was a “growth”. He didn’t know what it was, so he made me an appointment in a different hospital with a neurosurgeon.
The next day I had my appointment, they did an MRI, and planned surgery. The next day (Thursday) I had surgery to remove as much as they could of the tumor, and send it in for biopsy.
Biopsy results were not good. I have grade 4 Glioblastoma. It’s about the worst kind of brain cancer possible.
12. The U.S.A’s medical system has two speeds.
Oh, I was a 30yo male having my first visit from Aunt Flo. That was about the time I realized that whatever it was, was not IBS and a lettuce allergy.
But being the asshole that I am, I went for a colonoscopy and didn’t really recall the details on the day, but the next day I was in the office, and received a call from the senior pathologist at the hospital.
Now I don’t know how it works in other countries but in the US, the medical system has TWO speeds.
Normally you go to the doctor and they’ll say oh yes, we have an appointment available, how’s 6 months from now at 4pm.
When the shit has hit the fan so that 1:30pm call with the Sr. Pathologist and Oncologist, it’s different when they say can you be here by 3:00pm? I did not appreciate that on the first go around.
So again, me being the asshole , just within shooting distance and up to my eyeballs in my Ph.D and my day-job. I get a call from the aforementioned oncologist and pathology folks, and I insisted that they give me the diagnosis over the phone, saying “oh no,I can’t possibly come in this week…I’m swamped”…
My oncologist was not amused, and kind of snapped, he’s like “Ok Mr. markth_wi, I’m sitting here looking at your scans and path report with Dr. Surgeon and the head of Pathology, and it’s quite likely you’ve got 6-10 weeks left.”
Me still being a massive ass and still not quite understanding how fucked I was, said “I’m sorry I’ve got 6 weeks till what?!”.
My oncologist (who was clearly just mildly infuriated) goes “I’m not sure how to say this but you might be terminal and we’re not sure we can actually do anything for you.” (at which point it sinks in), and after a long pause on my part, he goes…. “So I’ll see you at 3 at the surgeon’s office…”.
Some years after the fact I found what is one of my favorite video’s on youtube, and while it’s funny, it’s spot on – in terms of how I reacted, by an act of providence, the movie even got the number of weeks right.
13. A Guardian angel
“When I was a junior in college, I had this super strange dream where my (deceased) grandfather was talking to me, clear as day. We were just chatting about life, when all of a sudden, he reached over and grabbed my boob. I was horrified and made myself wake up (my grandfather was an amazing guy, and that was totally out of character).
When I woke up, I put my hands over my boobs protectively as if he was still there and wanted to grab them again…it was then I found the lump…
I went to the doctors that week. Thankfully, I caught it unbelievably early and I am 7 years cancer free! I definitely think my grandfather is my guardian angel!”
14. Cleanly shaven saving.
“My (now cancer free) dad’s story is pretty hilarious in retrospect.
We had noticed a few pretty subtle personality changes but had just chalked it up to a mid-life crisis. Finally, all of a sudden, he shaved his mustache.
He’d had a mustache since high school. He met my mom in college and she had literally never seen him without one.
She made him go to the doctor, who realized that he had also lost his sense of smell. An MRI later and sure enough, there’s a golf ball sized tumor in his head. It was removed surgically less than two weeks later and he was back to work three months after that. Tumor-free ever since.”
15. Imagine waking up to that?
“I actually had Leukemia when I as 5-years-old. After going to the doctors 5 times with flu type symptoms slowly getting worse over the period of a month, becoming weaker, bruising easier and just really not being myself, my mum realized something was seriously wrong.
I was sleeping in my mum’s room, woke up at 4:15 AM and was stuck to the pillow not able to breathe out of my nose and had a horrible metallic taste in my mouth. So I said, ‘Mum, I’m not feeling well,’ to which she replied, ‘Don’t worry Callum, wait until the morning.’ So I went back to sleep.
Woke up when it was a little lighter, at around 7 AM.
After opening my eyes all I saw was blood everywhere. The whole pillow was covered along with my hand and face. Again, I said… ‘Mum’ she turned over and immediately her face dropped. We didn’t have a phone in the house so my mum screamed out the front door for someone to call an ambulance.
I was rushed to the hospital and there they diagnosed me with cancer. Missed 2 years of school and recovered fully in 3-4 years. I’m fine now! Living a happy life. Thanks to the doctors!”