Stuart and I headed to Seattle on Friday and came back on Saturday. We went up to Swedish Hospital to tour the Ben & Catherine Ivy Center for Advance Brain Tumor Treatment...lots of amazing things are happening there! And if or when its time for my Dad to have another surgery this is the place we want him to go...Dr. Foltz was very knowledgeable and carries such a passion for his work that I know this is were he would receive the best care. I know I am not the only person to experience the feelings I am feeling or the only person who feels so lost and unable to do anything...but all of this is consuming me and beginning to interfere with my everyday life...I would rather stay home and do nothing just so I don't have to interact with anyone...its so hard for me to have to deal with certain people who would rather live in denial and not talk about what we are all facing...not talking about it doesn't mean its not happening!
I think alot of people don't really understand the diagnosis that my dad has...Glioblastomas(GBM) is grade IV...they are the most commonly diagnosed brain tumor in adults. GBM infiltrates into surrounding brain tissue making it extremely difficult to treat. Generally, patients survive 3 months to 2 and a half years after diagnosis. GBM is considered one of the deadliest of human cancers. Approximaely 22,000 people will be diagnosed and approximately 13,000 will die from Glioblastoma this year alone. Currently, there is no known cure for this disease.
The only way to fight this disease is with AWARENESS...up until March 15th I had never heard of GBM...since then I have read any information I can find...the Chris Elliot Fund for Glioblastoma Brain Cancer Research has been a wealth of information to my family. Look them up on facebook join the cause of becoming aware and knowledgable about Brain Cancer...specifically GBM. One of the most important things that can be done for a loved one who was diagnosed and is able to have surgery to remove some or all of this ugly monster is to make sure the doctors get and save a frozen tissue sample so testing can be performed. With this testing there is a genetic marker that is able to determine if it will come back 2-3 months or 2-3 years from now...also it can determine what the proper path of care is to be taken as far as medications are concerned. Unfortunately, we do not have this frozen tissue sample from my dad's surgery...and we are all trying very hard not to let that bring us down. Secure a Cure...Advocacy, Awareness, Education and Research.
...for the remainder of the weekend I had a hard time getting myself out of bed...I have been feeling this way for quite awhile now, alot of the time I just keep what I am feeling to myself...but its definitely beginning to take its tole on me...I managed to make a couple things...only to take breaks often and go back to sleep for a few hours.
I have put alot of thought into a few things going on in my life and have decided to step down from Jessica Sprague's Creative Team...I will miss working so closely with one of my favorite digital designers...but I know its time for me to say goodbye. Also, earlier in the month I stepped down from my design team position at Unity Stamp Co. I look forward to what awaits me in the future. Thank you to all of you who read my blog and post comments on my work.
