If you haven’t been following along, read these first
Bria’s Diagnosis
Bria has been doing amazing since we arrived home from her brain surgery. She was ready to head back to school the next day, but we decided to wait a few more days.
We are waiting for her biopsy results to come in and it feels like it’s taking forever and a day. I mean we kind of know what to expect but as a Mom, I still have that little piece of hope that her tumor is benign.
We thought it would be nice to visit her Optometrist and let her know what was happening. I called to see if she was in and we went for a little visit. We thought it was important to personally thank this lady because if it wasn’t for her skills, Bria would probably still be having headaches and we wouldn’t know a thing about her tumor. We stopped for a card and some flowers on our way just as a little thank-you!
She had not heard any update on Bria. She was quite shocked and emotional when she saw us and heard about Bria’s journey. She gave Bria the biggest hug with tears in her eyes. She is such a sweet lady.
Bria wanted to go see her horse friends because she had been missing them so much. She rides 12 months of the year and now she is not allowed to ride at all, so she felt a visit would help.
Her coach was really happy to see her
Despite everything Bria has been through, she is still smiling and back to school!
The Dreaded Phone Call!
Sitting in my brothers living room after having turkey supper, my phone rings. 7:30pm on a Sunday night and it’s CHEO calling. My stomach suddenly felt ill. Again, we were expecting bad news and were given the heads up but I wasn’t ready to hear it from the main guy. It was Bria’s surgeon and her results were in. I would try and put into words how I was feeling but I think it’s indescribable. No mother on this earth should ever be told that their child has cancer. It’s words that everyone dreads and you never expect to hear them yourself. Her doctor told me in the kindest way that he could that Bria has brain cancer. You suddenly feel weak and automatically feel as if you drifted off to sleep and you were in some sort of awful nightmare. This can’t be true, there is no way I heard him right.
He explained what kind of tumor it was and that he wanted to see us in the clinic in a few days to discuss the next steps. We knew that surgery wasn’t an option so we were interested to find out where the next chapter in this journey was taking us!
I explained to Bria that it was cancer and she didn’t feel scared, she didn’t cry and she said “I’m gonna kick cancers butt!” She really amazes me with her courage and positive mind.
November 29th, 2018
It’s CHEO day! We had an early rise as we were off to Ottawa to meet with Bria’s Neurosurgeon to get her full report.
Bria wasn’t nervous at all and she was ready to put up a good fight if that was what she needed to do. Her shirt was perfect for today!
She wanted a picture with her brother before we hit the road.
Here we go…
It was a cloudy day but the roads were great and no snow.
Most of the conversation in the car was “what if she needs chemo?” “What if it’s radiation and chemo?” “What if they want to attempt another surgery?” I guess all of these questions were about to be answered. We arrived at CHEO around 9:45am and headed to the Neuro clinic.
“Bria, come on in”
Was this really happening? I am hoping to wake up soon! We went inside and waited for her Doctor to arrive. Bria and Dad are always up to silliness while they are waiting, it helps ease the nerves for everyone.
Humphrey had to come back for his check-up too. He went in the OR with Bria for her brain surgery so he needed to see if he was recovering as well.
I can hear her doctors voice in the hallway as he approached our room. Bria was very excited to see him again.
“Well hello Miss Bria, How are you doing?” as he is smiling ear to ear! And “How is Humphrey?” He literally remembered the bear’s name!!
He sat down with us and most importantly, Bria. He explained everything she needed to know about her tumor. The name of it, how it grew, how it’s still growing and how we are going to fix it. Her tumor will never be operable, it’s too much of a risk with the location of it. Her tumor will never shrink or disappear. She will always have this tumor living in her brain. She will never be in remission, however, chemo can stop the cancer cells from multiplying.
He had a discussion with the Oncologist about Bria and they both thought it was best to start chemotherapy right away to try and stop those bad cells from growing. He is very confident that it will work and he referred us to Oncology. He explained everything so well that we didn’t have many questions. I wanted to know if we had a back up in case this didn’t work. I didn’t like the idea of ruling out surgery, radiation and only having one type of chemo. He reassured me that the Oncologist will have a few options once we seen her.
Bria promised Dr. M that she would bring her book of drawings back that she made while in the hospital and of course he remembered she was supposed to bring them!
He sat with her for a long time. They chatting about Newfoundland and how he wants to visit there soon. Asking her if she was doing alright with all this new information that was just thrown at her. He is never in a hurry and Bria just loves to be around him. I am pretty sure he gives her the confidence that she needs.
and that is it…Oncology here we come. We have no idea what just happened, but it’s happening and so fast! We have put all our trust in these Doctor’s and hoping they can give Bria the life that she deserves.
We were told today that Bria has a brain tumor that is cancerous and is requiring chemotherapy. How was your day today?
Adventures With The Roos 