Wednesday 23 March 2011

Beloved Daughter & Her 'Gremlin'

What seems like ages ago, (though in fact fairly recently), my lovely young daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Grade 1 tumour of the pineal gland. Smack bang in the centre of the brain!

She sees a neurosurgeon at the specialist hospital in Hull on Monday 28 March. Another MRI scan, this time with the addition of a contrast dye, will be taken. Then the surgeon's course of action will be decided on.

My 'Gremlin Girl' has started a blog - the first time she's joined the Blogosphere and you can pop in and read it HERE

35 comments:

CHummelKornell said...

My prayers are with you.

thistledew said...

Phillip,
What can I say? Apart from the fact that I know that you will know that I am thinking of you all and praying for your daughter.
I have not looked at the computer for several weeks since moving from North of the Border to South of the Border, so it was fortuitous that my first viewing today was of your blog. I am sure that with your family`s support she will come through this with the fortitude we have come to expect from you all.
All is well with us. New house, new baby they say, well my beautiful Border Collie, Meghan has proved the point, giving birth to not one, but six new puppies on Thursday last.
Keep well and please keep in touch.
David
Thistledew.

The Bug said...

I'm so sorry! I'll add you guys to my prayer list. Heading over to her blog now...

Land of shimp said...

Oh God, Philip. I will be thinking of you and your daughter. I'll pray, I'll hope and if there is any justice in the world, your girl will be well.

You keep hoping, Philip. I've never, ever had reason to mention this on the internet before...but Flint's dad, my ex-husband, had a rather large brain tumor when he was eleven. Everyone thought he had broken his neck because of the big scar up the back of his head.

And it ever has returned to haunt him in anyway. Sure, he can be an infuriating doof that I divorced long ago...but he's a perfectly healthy one.

It can happen and I hope with all my heart it happens for your daughter.

Vera said...

Oh I am sorry to hear the news about your daughter and am off over to her blog to have a read. I will be thinking of you all.

PhilipH said...

My heartfelt thanks to you all for your support. My dear daughter, now 34 and mother of our only grandson and a lovely younger granddaughter, will never let this awful "lump" in her brilliant brain beat her.

Of that I am certain.

Thanks again, Phil

Pauline said...

Keeping you and your daughter in a circle of good thoughts.

yemamaya said...

Hi Philip,
just to let you know, we have you and your girl in our minds here in tiny country of Slovenia as well.
Beat the hell out of that 'lump' bastard! It'll all be OK, it must be.

Argent said...

Really sorry to hear about this. I'll be keepin' 'em crossed!

Nicole said...

My prayers are with your daughter and you and your family!

PhilipH said...

Your kind thoughts and comments are greatly appreciated by my wife and me. My daughter is staying very calm and confident and she WILL beat this. I know it; we all do.
Thanks again all of you lovely friends.

Unknown said...

Just came across your blog and will be sure to check out your daughters - sorry for the hard times you and your family are expereincing right now.

Susan said...

I'm sorry my friend - saying prayers for you and your family.

Unknown said...

Hi Phil,

Thank you for your comment :) I googled that "old moldy dough" song and found this -http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=4378

The fridge sure can be a mysterious place! I hope your daughter is doing well,

Aub

Pearl said...

Best of wishes to the both of you. On my way over...

Pearl

Stella Jones said...

In the blogosphere Philip, we have the chance to help you. We can all pray and we will, I know we will.
Blessings from Star

nollyposh said...

Given this sad state of affairs, i came across this the other day:
http://vimeo.com/24821365
and this guy NEVER gives up on tricky brain tumors:
http://www.neuroendoscopy.info/services_charlieteo.html
so much so that he is often shunned by his peers and i have always stood by THIS guy:
http://www.iangawler.com/
(((Hugs)))

nollyposh said...

(Ps) a friend of mine also had 'an unusual' tumor that encased her pituitary gland (diff gland i know) but she had it operated on and is fine now... i wish your dear daughter (She sounds quite the card! after reading her posts) all the VERY VERY best... If surviving illness is all about your state of mind (as you know i believe it is) then your daughter has it in the bag... She is fabulous! Big Aussy (((Hugs))) from me to you and your daughter xox

The Bug said...

Just checking in to see how things are going...

PhilipH said...

Thanks Dana,
Clare awaits the report of her latest scan and then the treatment plan will, hopefully, be decided.
The neurosurgeon she saw last week does not think surgery is an option, owing to the position of the tumour. I'm glad, in a way, as I cannot bear the thought of my darling daughter having her head opened up - with all the risks that are entailed.
It may be feasible to use chemo or a new form of laser treatment, although the latter is still very risky; a fraction of a millimetre wrong and I dread to think of the consequences.
Clare remains very brave in the face of all this waiting. A wonderful daughter and mother. Life can be so unfair.
Hope you are as well as poss Dana,
Regards, Phil

Snowbrush said...

Neither you nor she have mentioned the problem again since March! What's up?

PhilipH said...

Hi Snowbrush, thanks for calling in.
We are driving south early next month to see our daughter Clare and family. She is managing her seizures quite well now that she is on KEPPRA, which seems to work for her - though the mood swings are somewhat worrying at times.
She was taken to London to see one of the best neuro surgeons for a second opinion a couple of weeks ago. She took all her scans and reports and the upshot was that he agreed with the surgeons at Hull Infirmary: surgery is too dangerous and he concurred that monitoring (via scans of course) is the best course right now.
In a way, I'm relieved to know that my beautiful daughter will not be having to undergo surgery. This gland is smack in the centre of her brain and I shudder to think of the risks involved. We just have to wait, and hope.
Thanks - sorry I've not been keeping up with blogger for a while.
Regards, Phil

Snowbrush said...

It sounds like such a long and hard road. There are so many who suffer, and it is good that we try to reach out to one another.

Nicole said...

Phil,
I think of you and your daughter often and still send prayers her way. Take care!

Snowbrush said...

Her last entry and your last entry were in March. I sure could use an update.

PhilipH said...

Thanks for dropping by again Snowy. Clare is coping well and was pleased with the epilepsy specialist's help last week. He says her tumour is NOT the cause of her seizures. He has changed her meds from KEPPRA to LAMOTTRAGINE, which will be some weeks to actually achieve.
It now seems that the tumour may have been present for some time (from the womb even!).
I think this is quite possible as pineal gland tumours are usually only found in children and not adults. Very confusing, but in some respects it could be good news. We'll see her again soon and hope for the best.
Regards Phil

Snowbrush said...

Thanks so much for the update, Phil. I'm glad to hear that there's hope through a new medication.

The Kid In The Front Row said...

Thanks for pointing the way to her blog, I'll head over there now.

Meanwhile; take comfort in the fact that these surgeons and brain people are outrageous geniuses who do their magic when needed in little operating rooms with no heroics and no fuss and then they and the patients and the family all get to be drinking tea less than an hour later. It's all pretty amazing, and I wish her well.. my thoughts are with you all! x

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

I am so sorry to hear of the sad new of the health challenge your daughter is faced with. A similar thing just happened to me..and now my daughter is doing better and we have lots of hope. Breast cancer.
She lost both breasts, just finished her Chemo treatments..of course has no hair on her sweet head, but she is doing everything they tell her and we are doing well.
I wish the best for your precious daughter.
I had to smile as I read todays post about your dream..and found it very telling as you wrote...""she with her hubby and me WISH my wife." :) See? See me smiling:)
Dreams are not always a wish your heart makes but in this instance...I have to wonder.
:)Mona

Snowbrush said...

Hey, Philip, I do keep coming by in case you posted, and I missed it. Maybe someday, you'll favor us with your writing.

PhilipH said...

Hi Snowy and thanks for dropping by. Clare remains positive and is trying new tabs to control her seizures. We drove down from Scotland to see her and the grandkids recently and it was a lovely visit.

Snowbrush said...

I'm so glad you had a good trip. When you live in Scotland, do you tend to dread winter? I know I dread it, and I'm not quite to the 45th parallel, which, I think, is about where London lies.

Susan said...

Just checking in to see how things are going. Keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers. Hope all is well!

Elisabeth said...

Thanks for the link. What a horror. It's good that you can both at least write about and battle the tumour with a little help by way of empathy from your readers.

Zuzana said...

This must be a terrible ordeal for you and your girl. I can not even imagine what it woudl be like to be given such a news...
Thank you so much for your visit and kind comment at my place,
xoxo