Andrew Leigh
Chief Petty Officer
Thread starter- Joined
- Jun 17, 2003
- Messages
- 431
Hi<br /><br />Two weeks ago my eldest brother was diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic. He started his medication and was feeling great, he is 55 years old. Two days later they removed a lump from his right armpit. A week later he went to have the drain removed and he asked the nurse where the biopsy results were, to which she replied that no news was good news. I had lunch with him on Tuesday thereafter, he told me the diabetic medicine was great and that he had not felt better in years. I must confess I had not seen him that positive for many a year.<br /><br />The following day he was asked to see his physician who informed him that he has Stage IV malignant melanoma and that the survival rate was particularly poor, 9 months at best.<br /><br />On Saturday morning his wife phoned me to saying that he was having trouble articulating his speech and was struggling to find or pronounce certain words. I spoke to him and he was having much difficulty. He refused my offer to take him to hospital saying his mind was alright and that it could be his diabetic medication.<br /><br />On Sunday 12:00 wife phoned, he had lost conciousness and had fallen down. He was unaware of his surroundings and could I rush through and take him to hospital. I did this and he had a further seisure in the hospital.<br /><br />He has been sedated since then, the melanoma has metasised to the brain and he has a bleeding tumour located in the area of the brain that controls the motor skills and speech.<br /><br />Today his wife and I will need to decide what to do. We are unaware of the brain damage or the possible negative effects of the operation. The surgeon will be giving us the final verdict today. The one postive of the operation is that if he comes our speaking and thinking this will buy us all some quality time and will allow him to put his house in order, will etc.<br /><br />I am O.K. with this as I did speak to him after he was diagnosed and he assured me that he was not scared of dying but he was scared of leaving his family in debt. I promised I will look after his family. I also managed to get all the family, from near and far to see him, albeit in a heavily sedated state in which communication is not possible. He has also asked me to ensure that no money is spent on keeping him alive as this would financially cripple his family. They have limited health insurance.<br /><br />If we can buy a couple of weeks through the operation I would be most happy as this would be a win win for all.<br /><br />An unfortunate twist of fate. Thought I would share.<br /><br /><br />Cheers<br />Andrew
<br /><br />Your brother is fortunate to have such a loving and strong person to count on.
