I have brain cancer. Words I never thought I would say. But it’s true… I have a level four glioblastoma a brain tumor.
This is a battle, but it’s a battle I am going to win. I have to dance at my son’s wedding, and as of today (9/11/09) he is only four and a half.
Being diagnosed with a brain tumor is scary that was the worst day of my life... But I’ll tell you it puts life into perspective. What once mattered means nothing now.
Let me explain.
This all started in June of 2009. I had a seizer; I had never had one before. The night of the seizer both my wife Kim and I had food poisoning from our favorite Mexican restaurant. Kim found me in the bathroom shaking and called 911 I was taken to the hospital and the doctors thought that I hit my head on the wall from being dizzy because of the food poisoning and aside from doing a MRI blew it off.
A few weeks later I had a second seizer. We knew now something was wrong. The doctors again did a MRI and found a bleed on the brain; nevertheless they blew that off too. They did though diagnose me with epilepsy. Once someone has two seizers they are automaticity diagnosed with epilepsy. I was told I could not drive for six month; I had to go six months seizer free before I could get behind the wheel. I was devastated. This to me was the end of the world. Well a few weeks go by and bam I have a third seizer. Now we know something is seriously wrong. I do not remember much about this trip to the hospital because I was put into a medically induced coma, while in the coma I got pneumonia from aspirating. Once I woke up my family was fighting to get me transferred to U of M. They felt the doctors were missing something. Well they were!
Somehow my amazing wife Kim got me an appointment with Dr. Jacques Marcos one of the top neurosurgeons in the country. We met with him on Friday, August 1, 2009 he took one look at my MRIs and said “there is no easy way to say this but you are going to have brain surgery” and he scheduled it for the following Monday August 3, 2009 and told me I had a tumor.
Surgery went great, I was released from the hospital three days after he cracked open my head and I was back to shooting video a week after surgery. I felt great like nothing was wrong aside from having a head full of stitches.
A week after having surgery I went back to Miami to se Dr. Marcos and his team to have the stiches removed and receive the results of the pathology report. My brother Craig went with me and Kim stayed to work. We were originally were under the impression that the pathology report would be good the worst we thought we would hear is that the tumor was a level three glioblastoma. Kim and both felt it was more important for to save her days off for future treatment. You have to understand Kim is my source of insurance without her working I have none. So Craig went with me we had Kim on speaker phone when Dr.Marcos told us the news that I had a glioblastoma level four and we had a battle a head of us… the three of us broke into tears and Kim felt even worse not being with us. This is where life was put into perspective for me. Not being able to drive automatically seemed petty to me… I wanted to trade the cancer back for that problem.
I was never told a survival rate but was told that a glioblastoma was not good. At first I asked “why me” and broke down several times in tears. Then while visiting one of my doctors in iMiami I met a gentleman who has been battling cancer his entire life and was in his forty’s. He had the most amazing attitude I had ever seen. He was fighting and was not going to let the cancer win. He was an inspiration and I will never forget him. It was then I realized that I had to have a positive attitude too in order to beat this… and I have had that attitude ever since. But it’s not just me. I have amazing support system, from my family, to friends, to even strangers they are one of the ways I get by. If it wasn’t for Kim I don’t know where I would be today. She is the one who got me in to see Dr.Marcos and he along with Kim I believe saved my life. Then there is my brother Craig who ended up being the best brother in the world he did whatever it took to get things done, from helping Kim get me transferred to Miami to talking to doctors when I couldn’t to doing whatever he had to make sure I was okay. He defines what a brother truly is. Then there is the rest of the family my in-laws who were there every step of the way not only for me but for Kim, My parents, My Aunt Andy, Cousin Melissa, Kim’s Aunt Barbara who was willing to fly down from NY to help… the list goes on. My friends were there. My friends even had their churches and temples praying for me… I had strangers praying for me. I can’t explain just how that felt; it makes me tear up just thinking about all the love and support I have received. Even friends on facebook are praying for me and telling me that I am an inspiration to them.
Then a couple weeks after receiving the news that I had cancer I had another seizer at sisterin-laws house and one more while at home I was taken to Boca Community Hospital. This ended up being a blessing in disguise. We ended up meeting an amazing group of doctors who ended up taking over my case. Aunt Barbara flew down to help Kim out with me.
The new doctors set me up for treatment radiation and chemotherapy pills (thermador). I started this on Tuesday, September 8, 2009.
I want to get back to the positive attitude; this I feel is the key to survival.
I pulled several quotes from some of my favorite songs to help me get by. I want to share them with you.
Hakuna Matata! What a wonderful phrase Hakuna Matata! Ain't no passing craze It means no worries for the rest of your days It's our problem-free philosophy.
Disney’s Lion King
You've got to roll with the punches to get to what's real.
Van Hallen’s Jump
Catch that magic moment, do it...Right here and now...It means everything.
Van Hallen’s Right now
And simply “life is good”
I was recently told “your attitude is so inspirational”
This is a battle, but it’s a battle I am going to win. I have to dance at my son’s wedding, and as of today (9/11/09) he is only four and a half.
Being diagnosed with a brain tumor is scary that was the worst day of my life... But I’ll tell you it puts life into perspective. What once mattered means nothing now.
Let me explain.
This all started in June of 2009. I had a seizer; I had never had one before. The night of the seizer both my wife Kim and I had food poisoning from our favorite Mexican restaurant. Kim found me in the bathroom shaking and called 911 I was taken to the hospital and the doctors thought that I hit my head on the wall from being dizzy because of the food poisoning and aside from doing a MRI blew it off.
A few weeks later I had a second seizer. We knew now something was wrong. The doctors again did a MRI and found a bleed on the brain; nevertheless they blew that off too. They did though diagnose me with epilepsy. Once someone has two seizers they are automaticity diagnosed with epilepsy. I was told I could not drive for six month; I had to go six months seizer free before I could get behind the wheel. I was devastated. This to me was the end of the world. Well a few weeks go by and bam I have a third seizer. Now we know something is seriously wrong. I do not remember much about this trip to the hospital because I was put into a medically induced coma, while in the coma I got pneumonia from aspirating. Once I woke up my family was fighting to get me transferred to U of M. They felt the doctors were missing something. Well they were!
Somehow my amazing wife Kim got me an appointment with Dr. Jacques Marcos one of the top neurosurgeons in the country. We met with him on Friday, August 1, 2009 he took one look at my MRIs and said “there is no easy way to say this but you are going to have brain surgery” and he scheduled it for the following Monday August 3, 2009 and told me I had a tumor.
Surgery went great, I was released from the hospital three days after he cracked open my head and I was back to shooting video a week after surgery. I felt great like nothing was wrong aside from having a head full of stitches.
A week after having surgery I went back to Miami to se Dr. Marcos and his team to have the stiches removed and receive the results of the pathology report. My brother Craig went with me and Kim stayed to work. We were originally were under the impression that the pathology report would be good the worst we thought we would hear is that the tumor was a level three glioblastoma. Kim and both felt it was more important for to save her days off for future treatment. You have to understand Kim is my source of insurance without her working I have none. So Craig went with me we had Kim on speaker phone when Dr.Marcos told us the news that I had a glioblastoma level four and we had a battle a head of us… the three of us broke into tears and Kim felt even worse not being with us. This is where life was put into perspective for me. Not being able to drive automatically seemed petty to me… I wanted to trade the cancer back for that problem.
I was never told a survival rate but was told that a glioblastoma was not good. At first I asked “why me” and broke down several times in tears. Then while visiting one of my doctors in iMiami I met a gentleman who has been battling cancer his entire life and was in his forty’s. He had the most amazing attitude I had ever seen. He was fighting and was not going to let the cancer win. He was an inspiration and I will never forget him. It was then I realized that I had to have a positive attitude too in order to beat this… and I have had that attitude ever since. But it’s not just me. I have amazing support system, from my family, to friends, to even strangers they are one of the ways I get by. If it wasn’t for Kim I don’t know where I would be today. She is the one who got me in to see Dr.Marcos and he along with Kim I believe saved my life. Then there is my brother Craig who ended up being the best brother in the world he did whatever it took to get things done, from helping Kim get me transferred to Miami to talking to doctors when I couldn’t to doing whatever he had to make sure I was okay. He defines what a brother truly is. Then there is the rest of the family my in-laws who were there every step of the way not only for me but for Kim, My parents, My Aunt Andy, Cousin Melissa, Kim’s Aunt Barbara who was willing to fly down from NY to help… the list goes on. My friends were there. My friends even had their churches and temples praying for me… I had strangers praying for me. I can’t explain just how that felt; it makes me tear up just thinking about all the love and support I have received. Even friends on facebook are praying for me and telling me that I am an inspiration to them.
Then a couple weeks after receiving the news that I had cancer I had another seizer at sisterin-laws house and one more while at home I was taken to Boca Community Hospital. This ended up being a blessing in disguise. We ended up meeting an amazing group of doctors who ended up taking over my case. Aunt Barbara flew down to help Kim out with me.
The new doctors set me up for treatment radiation and chemotherapy pills (thermador). I started this on Tuesday, September 8, 2009.
I want to get back to the positive attitude; this I feel is the key to survival.
I pulled several quotes from some of my favorite songs to help me get by. I want to share them with you.
Hakuna Matata! What a wonderful phrase Hakuna Matata! Ain't no passing craze It means no worries for the rest of your days It's our problem-free philosophy.
Disney’s Lion King
You've got to roll with the punches to get to what's real.
Van Hallen’s Jump
Catch that magic moment, do it...Right here and now...It means everything.
Van Hallen’s Right now
And simply “life is good”
I was recently told “your attitude is so inspirational”
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