The honest truth..

And that’s a wrap!! Christmas 2024 has come to an end. I hope you all had a fabulous time making memories with loved ones. I am so thankful that I was here for it. 356 days until Christmas 🎄 2025!! and I very much intend to be here!

Bringing in the New Year was very quiet, just Neil and myself. It was really emotional, and I shed quite a few tears. But seriously, what a scary few months it’s been. I’ve said a lot already in my last blog entry. I know that with stage 4 there will come a time when they say that unfortunately, there is nothing left, and they can do no more. I thought I had accepted that, but clearly not!! In my clinic letter dated 19/11/2024, it said, “There are no good systemic options for treating the tumour in the brain. Given this, the alternative
to surgery and radiosurgery would be supportive care and Alison is highly motivated to do everything
she can to treat her disease and is fully accepting of any risks involved in further treatment.”

Did i think then that this it? Yes I knew that was a real possibility.This was just a wee bit too real! Too close! No way! I will do anything and everything to keep fighting, to keep living.

I didn’t want to wait until the new year for my op, and neither did my surgeon, but there was no way I was going to be in hospital for christmas! I needed to get the tumour out to give me the best chance of survival. I got out of hospital on the Saturday night. Lots of time left for christmas prep and I got my christmas nails done on the Monday.  Priorities!!

Post op appointment 30/12 and the news was very positive that they got all the tumour out. I don’t think we could have had better news. He is writing to my oncologist, and we shall see how he wants to proceed. I also got my staples out. There weren’t as many as my first op and it wasn’t painful, just a bit stingy. I am just so thankful and relieved that the whole thing is gone.

One really scary moment post op was when Neil and Lara came in to see me, just after the op, and I went to shift myself up in bed and then I noticed there was a lot of blood around my right hand side. Neil and lara called for help. Then there were about 6 nurses around me and my anesthetist happened to be walking by so he came in too. My arterial line, which they use for monitoring during the op, had become unattached, and it was pumping the blood out. At first, they thought the whole thing had come out, but it was the anaesthetist who said no, so everyone was holding it wrong to try and stop it bleeding. Everyone was shouting my arm was in the air and there was blood everywhere!! I was covered. It was all a bit chaotic! Lara, blessed her had to go to the nurses station as she is pretty squeamish and had to lie down. They eventually got it stopped and cleaned me up, changed the bed and then I was fine!!

Christmas was just lovely, and the family did an amazing job doing dinner – BUT did I just sit and ‘supervise’ – of course I didn’t!!

And so here we are starting 2025. I will probably try and go back to work at the beginning of Feb. ( If not sooner!!) I am incredibly tired all the time and still need to have a rest during the day. But it’s more than just feeling tired. It’s like complete exhaustion. But I’m still here! And that’s what matters. It is 2 weeks and 1 day post op.

I am so very grateful and thankful that I am still here. Many are not so lucky.