Pat's Journey: The Fight Against Brain Cancer

How many of us sleep with our phones on our nightstand just in case there's an emergency in the middle of the night? I (Angie) certainly do. And it doesn't matter how deep of a sleep you're in, that first ring jolts you awake and you know right away something is wrong. That's where this story starts. At 4:50am, in the dark, while it's raining and cold. I answer, and hear my mom say, "Ang, you need to get up here. Something is wrong with Pat." (For those of you don't know, my parents live back a long lane right behind my house.) I walk in the door of their kitchen, seeing one of the strongest men I know, in tears. He couldn't speak. He knew he couldn't speak, but he couldn't fix it.

Rewind a few years to 1965. When Pat was born, he was born with heart issues and almost did not make it. He lived as long as he could without his heart needing further assistance. In 2005, at 40 years old, he needed open heart surgery to have an artificial heart valve placed. This valve has saved his life, and while the ticking of it is known to lull any baby he holds to sleep, it's always caused us to be on higher alert for potential issues regarding Pat's health.

Back to current day, that morning was a need for a trip to the local emergency room. He underwent different testing, lab work and scans. The doctor said that there is nothing in particular with the tests that he finds alarming, said it might have been a TIA, or mini stroke, something they couldn't really help with, and sent him home with directions to rest. So he did. The next day, Pat went to work. That's what Pat does. He WORKS.

Thanksgiving morning, as we were getting ready to start cooking, the phone rings again. Something is wrong with Pat again. This time was different than the other day. These episodes of not being able to talk were accompanied by trembling in the face and rhythmic arm movements. We decided he needed better treatment, and we hurried our way to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh. Honestly, if this absolutely had to happen, the timing could not have been better. There was no wait in the ER, and they got to work on Pat right away, while he was having episode after episode of loosing his words, his jaw trembling, and arms twitching.

Imagine being in the middle of a sentence, and all of a sudden you start repeating one syllable over and over again just like a skipping record. You know it's happening, you cannot control it, and all you can do is wait it out until your mouth and brain connect again. After several hours of this, you're nothing short of exhausted, worried and scared.

After a lot of poking and prodding, test results started coming in. Pat's heart was confirmed to be strong and working correctly. Okay, that's a big relief. His vitals, EKG and blood work all look good. Phew! Then the doctor comes to the room and says that the MRI showed there's a mass on the brain. What?! The next team of doctors come in shortly after, and they confirm that there is a tumor on the frontal lobe of the brain, and surgery will be required to remove it. Around the tumor there is swelling and excess fluid, and it is causing small seizures that are resulting in the loss of speech. At this point, Pat has had at least a dozen small seizures just from the time he woke up. They start Pat on anti seizure medication, admit him to the hospital, and get the surgery scheduled.

Talk about a whirlwind. He was just working yesterday! We were supposed to be eating turkey right now, not scheduling brain surgery. What in the world just happened??

Today, Pat is in the Neuro wing of the ICU. They are continuing to run more tests, administer a 24 hour EEG, and developing the surgical plan to remove the tumor. There are a lot of things that are not known at this point. The one thing that is certain, is that Pat will have a long road to recovery. The one definite with brain surgery is that rehabilitation and therapy will be needed. However, until he is able to be evaluated after surgery, we will not know how intense the rehab and therapy will need to be. So far, we have been told it will likely be several days in the hospital after surgery, a timely stay at a skilled nursing facility, inpatient rehab, and home health care and therapy.

Pat DOES have health insurance. They will be able to help cover the cost of surgeries and treatment. However, one month from now, he starts a new year for meeting his deductibles, and will be out of work for an undisclosed amount of time. The unknown is terrifying.

We are reaching out as a family to ask for help. Help with the meeting insurance deductibles, help with making ends meet while he is out of work, and help with travel expenses traveling to Pittsburgh (an hour from home) everyday. This is not something we'd ever thought we needed to be prepared for. Seriously, who has to have open heart AND brain surgery in their lifetime? Simply put-- the situation is still surreal and has us scrambling.

We understand that times seem to be tough for everyone. And we understand that not everyone is in a position to help financially. That's okay. A prayer, a kind word or spreading the word of Pat's situation is help enough!

Thank you all for reading Pat's very abbreviated story! We appreciate all of you, and will continue to post updates as we receive them.