Brain cancer. Would not recommend. Zero stars.

My superhero turned out to be vincible after all. Dale Luokkala, my dad, and superhero was diagnosed with Stage IV glioblastoma on June 5th. These past three weeks have seemed to fly by in slow motion.

Here is the abridged version of what has been happening:

On May 21st, my dad was evaluated at Bell’s emergency department for stroke-like symptoms. He had slurred speech, left-sided facial numbness, and intermittent tingling in his left hand. In typical Dale fashion, dad wanted to know if he would finish all his testing to make it to softball practice on time. His head CT revealed a brain mass. The MD told us that he needed to be seen by neurosurgery in Marquette.

He was transferred. That night my dad had an MRI, both with and without contrast, as well as a full-body CT to rule out any other masses. He was seen by the Marquette neurosurgery team. We were told his symptoms were urgent, but not emergent. He was started on anti-seizure medications and discharged home.

On May 23rd, my dad’s medical records were sent to the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin-Madison for second opinions. Both medical universities were lovely to deal with.

On May 24th, our family had phone and Zoom consultations with the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin’s top neurosurgeons. After virtually meeting with both doctors and considering a confident recommendation (from my best friend’s head neurosurgeon at Loyola), dad decided to become a Wisconsin Badgers fan.

That weekend was spent filling out admission paperwork, getting the vehicles packed and ready to go, and arranging work and family schedules. My parents left for Madison on May 28th and the rest of us followed the next day.

On May 29th my dad was admitted to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, doing more testing including another, more detailed, MRI of his brain. On May 30th he underwent brain surgery while being awake. The neurosurgeon had nothing short of remarkable things to say about my dad and how well he did during surgery. (At some point during the operation, we were told that when my dad was asked to follow a simple command such as “squeeze my fingers” he replied with, “Why don’t you pull mine?” Again, typical Dale fashion, always a jokester).

The UW Health staff were wonderful. They took amazing care of my dad and our crazy family. His immediate post-operative recovery took place in UW Health’s Neuro Intensive Care Unit. His primary nurse had him walking the halls, showing off his beautiful white bulky head dressing, later that evening. After a few days in the Neuro ICU, they deemed him stable enough to travel back north.

His world and ours have both been turned upside down. He continues to be a sarcastic, funny, and stubborn Finlander. We are beyond thankful for the hospital staff, family, and friends we have been able to lean on.

On June 5th my parents had a consult with the University of Wisconsin’s neurosurgical team. They discussed the pathology of the tumor, the treatment plan, and the long and bumpy road ahead. The week of June 10th, my dad will meet with both radiology/oncology and hematology/oncology to discuss and potentially start treatments. The current tentative plan is radiation Monday through Friday in Marquette with chemo treatments. He will need to visit Madison, WI every two months for repeat imaging and testing.

Please consider supporting my superhero during this time of healing by sending words of encouragement, donating, or even sharing his story.

-Heather Smith (Daughter)