View allAll Photos Tagged braintumours
This photo was taken just after Adrian had been carrying Siobhan around on his back as a horse. They fell to the ground and started laughing. I couldn't help myself and snapped the moment .
IMGP3030_urban3agedfr2
23rd January 2009.
4 days after his brain tumour operation, we lifted Fin out of his bed for the first time. This deceptively peaceful shot of him lying down with me on the couch by his bedside followed probably ten minutes of high volume screaming!
8th November 2012.
Fin's scheduled MRI (having moved back to a 6-monthly schedule due to an unwelcome change in tumour growth rate shown in the May scan). This was the first of his dozen or so MRI scans to date that he has had without a general anaesthetic. Complete star - not a murmur when he was cannulated for the dye injection and stayed nice and still for the long and noisy scan procedure. Now we just have to hope the results are equally well-behaved.
Back on Tuesday week to see the consultant and find out those results...
Day 120 of Gratitude
No tumour!
I'm not sure if I was in denial or perhaps I was avoiding reality (same same but different). Part of me was definitely not talking about things to protect family and friends from worrying. Another part was sticking to the comfort of "It's not a big deal." Today however I have let myself relax and finally settled in to the moment. The moment where I looked at my roommate and said, "I don't have a tumour." Her slightly surprised and confused facial expression made me realize I started a conversation in my head and finished it out loud. The truth was I hadn't said it yet. “I don't have a brain tumour” the scariest words to come out of my mouth. They are good words. I can celebrate but that is a very real phrase. A humbling, reality shaking phrase. So now that I've been thrown into the moment here are some facts.
1. Brain tumours range in size from a pea to a fist or baseball
2. There are more than 120 different types of brain tumours
3. They are the third leading cause of solid cancer death in young adults ages 20-39.
4. Every day, 27 Canadians are diagnosed with a brain tumour.
The reason I went to get checked is because I’ve been getting the 3-8 second, paralyzing pains through my temple in behind my right eye. They tried all these special eye tests, looked into my brain and couldn't find the cause for my peculiar and dangerous pain. I didn't get them driving but I had my fair share of close calls while on a bike, standing on a chair, holding a child, etc. I was annoyed and slightly worried about my safety but I became very worried and decided to take action when it first happened while holding a child. I collapsed against the wall holding the child tightly to my chest. What if I had dropped him or fell on him? Endangering someone else is not okay!
I drove to Kelowna this past weekend to see a specialist (all the family photos that were just a part of the project were my distraction). Thank God for specialists for while he had never seen a case like mine and didn’t have anything that he could do for me he did find an answer in his big Bible of head pains. I suffer from Ice Pick Migraines. I’m not one for labels but at the same time I’ll take a label over “We don’t know” any day!
I drove away from the doctor’s office uncomfortable because these are something that I will hopefully grow out of but happy and sad while emotions flooded over me. The seriousness, lack of a cure, and relief of it all was overwhelming. I didn’t know what emotion to be. Today the reality of what everyone was trying not to mention has settled in. The possible tumour reality.
Thank you God
31st January 2009. Mr Clown, the 5ft helium balloon, has been known to draw the occasional heart palpitation from the night nurses when allowed (inadvertently) to drift out of the gloom into the pathway between the beds.
4th March 2009. In the recovery room waiting for Fin to come round from the GA for his third lumbar puncture in the last week.
My little friend Siobhan came over today for a few hours. She had a new haircut and looked so cute
IMGP2735_orton2
5th March 2009. After the traumatic hairwash; the traumatic haircut! We were allowed to take Fin down the road to Headington to try and cut out some of the dried-on gunk from his head leaks that the wash had failed to clear. That didn't work either - he was so terrified of them cutting the hair near the scar at the back that they had to stop short before getting to the gunk.
15th January 2009.
Finley's 1,814th "Photo of the Day". Taken today in the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford after he was diagnosed this morning with a brain tumour. Get well soon my boy.
12th May 2013.
The scars from Fin's second and fifth operations (in 2009 and 2013 respectively). Results of the MRI scan he had last Wednesday will be shared with us on May 28th - at which point we are hoping that this will be a big "V" for victory.
29th January 2009.
Sick all morning, he had a small taste of the cake before he was returned to nil-by-mouth in readiness for further surgery. 10 days into the recuperation from surgery for his brain tumour, today, his 5th birthday, Fin contracted meningitis.
We're looking for suitable images for the 2013 Camille's Appeal Calendar. Camille's Appeal are a charity dedicated to supporting the recovery of children with brain tumours. The calendar is a way of spreading the word about the charity and raising some funds along the way.
The contributors group is here: www.flickr.com/groups/1553364@N23/
All photographs entered into the group pool must be ones you are happy to donate for the charity to use. All (c) rights must be yours. Please check with any photo libraries the image may be listed with in advance that you are able to use the image. Please also note, it is your responsibility as the photographer/artist to ensure that you have written model releases for any recognisable people within the images.
Artists and photographers are welcome to submit images for consideration this year.
19th May 2010. Fin's 6-monthly scheduled MRI scan today. Good timing really - he's been a bit "off" again at times in the last couple of weeks, so it will be good to get confirmation that it's just a temporary dip and nothing more serious. Good as gold today - went to sleep under the gas mask without a murmur and generally got on with it as ever. Back for the results and consultation in 2 weeks.
19th January 2009.
Taken an hour or so before Fin went down for surgery to try to remove his brain tumour.
An article from the Vancouver Province newspaper exposing the fact that over ten years ago cellphone manufacturers were patenting devices to reduce risk of brain tumours in their users. Some dangers of microwave radiation have been known since at least the 1970s.
A recent study published in the journal Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine, reported some alarming findings, including that children absorb twice the amount of cell-phone radiation in their heads, and as much as 10 times in their bone marrow, than adults do. iPads use the same/similar energy.
Of course, you'll find articles saying there's no known danger (or, it's controversial), but almost all of those originate from government (like the National Cancer Institute) or business sources. They lie.
See an example of bogus science at: www.emf-health.com/reports-drcarlo-danishstudy.htm.
7th January 2013. (iPhone photo)
Fin's 5th head-hole. Bit tired today, so haven't yet found the inspiration to give this one a name. Fin himself is henceforward to be known as Mr Sick-bowl-face as he fights off any attempt to remove the bowl wedged under his chin. From a certain angle and if you squint a bit, makes him look like he's got a big, grey, smiley mouth. That's my boy. Still out for the count on the drugs for now, but hopefully tomorrow we'll see a bit more of the boy within.
23rd March 2009. Being prepped for having his shunt inserted. With his veins having been jabbed to pieces over the last two months and more, an attempt to insert a cannula for the GA failed. Gas used instead which is more traumatic for him (and therefore us) by a fair old margin.
7th January 2012. (iPhone photo)
Fin went off to theatre about an hour ago. We now get to take some big deep breaths for a few hours while we await his safe return...
Late morning, 19th January 2009. The last picture of Fin before the operation to try to remove his brain tumour.
30th June 2009. Fin with "Mister" - more deferentially known (i.e. not by Fin) as Mr Richards, the chief paediatric neurosurgeon at the John Radcliffe and therefore a man with a most intimate knowledge of the inside of Finley's skull. The contents could not have been in safer hands - even though the news he gave us today was not what we'd hoped for. Part of the tumour remains and is in a dangerous location (surgically). Not a problem for now though so it's watch and wait, with the next MRI scan in 6 months.
11th January 2013.
Trying hard to get home in time for his mum's big birthday on Saturday, Fin put a huge amount of effort into working through the tasks required to prove fitness for an early release. Getting up and down the stairs with the physiotherapist was a box that needed to be ticked.
26th January 2009
One week on from the main operation we were allowed to push Finley outside briefly. Somehow he looked even more ill in the daylight!
5th March 2009. In the Sensory Room, part of The Children's Hospital in the John Radcliffe. The coloured bars light up as the volume increases.
15th February 2009. There was apparently a small frying pan fire somewhere in the hospital first thing this morning. I guess they don't take any chances when there's a fire of any kind in a hospital. We counted 13 fire vehicles and 6 police cars at the scene! Naturally, Fin jumped into his slippers and had a coat thrown over his pyjamas so he could go out and see all the excitement (fire engines being his great passion).
This photo was taken just after Adrian had been carrying Siobhan around on his back as a horse. They fell to the ground and started laughing. I couldn't help myself and snapped the moment .
11th February 2009. No longer Mr Tube-Head. The tube stopped working so was pulled out - leading to a fairly unpleasant fountain of fluid escaping through the hole. The comedy bandage is to apply pressure to the cream and gauze used to try and plug the hole (later replaced after repeated leakings by a stitch and then again by another stitch 24 hours on.)
25th February 2009. Readmitted to the John Radcliffe and having his first batch of "observations" (the three-hourly cycle of temperature check, blood pressure etc).
17th January 2009.
For a couple of days in between the first operation to drain the fluid from his head (removing his horrible headaches) and the second to attempt to remove the tumour, Fin was (in spells) his happy and funny self.