Around the 22nd of May, David began to notice a weakness in his right side. He had been hiking and running regularly before this, and quite suddenly it became more difficult for him to walk and move about. We presumed at this point that David’s Parkinson’s Disease, which he has been managing quite well until this point with just occasional tremor, had progressed quite quickly, impacting his mobility. For nearly two weeks we tried to make the adjustment to this new reality.

There were also a couple of involuntary movement episodes which we thought were also short bouts of Parkinson’s symptoms, but which we now know were seizures.

We deliberated going to the ER during this time, but figured they might just turn us away when they heard he was also someone with Parkinson’s.

On Wednesday June 4, David’s intuition (and some wise words from a nurse friend of ours) spoke loud and clear that he needed to get checked out in the ER in Comox. He knew this felt like a “different animal,” and that the changes were too fast to be in line with his Parkinson’s.

We spent a long afternoon and evening in the ER. They did a CT scan, and found a mass in David’s brain. At first, the doctors were quite convinced that this mass had metastasized from somewhere else in his body, but they weren’t able to do a full body CT till morning.

We spent the most terrifying night of our lives together on a stretcher in a small dark room in the ER, wondering if we would ever get to go home together again.

The CT scan of the rest of his body in the morning revealed, blessedly, nothing.

So we were now dealing exclusively with a brain tumour. They wouldn’t know what it was till it came out and was studied. His mobility really decreased at this point; he wasn’t able to walk without help. We remained in the hospital. This was Thursday, June 5. Surgery was scheduled for Monday, June 9.

We would be transferred to Victoria General Hospital on Saturday the 8th. We might have a month of cancer treatment immediately following. I cancelled all my work and dashed home to Denman Island for a few hours to pack a month’s worth of whatever I thought we might need.

The surgery went as well as it could have gone. The tumour was on David’s left motor cortex (hence the right side weakness) and they removed as much as they safely could without compromising his movement abilities. One incredible thing, one of the many bright lights on this journey, was that a new dye had just been approved at Victoria General which, if drank before a brain tumour operation, lit up the tumour cells so that they could be more thoroughly removed. David was the first patient this was used on at VGH and it seemed fortuitous, and gave us hope.

The neurosurgeon brought us the report back from the pathologist in a few days. The diagnosis is glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.

Nothing can prepare you for the ice in your veins as you hear those words from the surgeon, as he casually leans in your doorway, the room you share with four other patients.

So. At the time of this writing, we are resting at home now and settling into healing, and preparing for treatment. Radiation is planned, and possibly chemo. We are also going to be working with a well-known herbalist who specializes in herbal oncology, and possibly receiving some other supplementary treatments.

David is still regaining his ability to walk fully as his brain reconnects with his body. He is now able to walk short distances with a walker. A lot of caregiving is required. I have taken three weeks off work, to caregive and also for my own mental health, and will likely need to take more, depending on how things unfold. Our kids have been around and have been great supports, and we have an amazing community of practical helpers here on Denman.

This is an opportunity to provide financial support to David and Shara and our caregiving team. Some of the expenses we are needing to cover include:

-Both of our losses of income during this time (How much will either of us be able to work? We aren’t really sure yet)

-Improvements to our rural driveway which will allow us to drive very close to the house for greater accessibility for David

-An out of the blue $3,000 car repair

-Supplementary therapies and treatments for cancer that are not covered by medical insurance

-The best cancer-fighting organic foods

-Travel to and accommodation in Victoria during treatment times

-Cleaning support for our home

-Prescription medications (there are lots, now, and we don’t have a drug plan)

-Acupuncture, massage, physio, and psychotherapy for David and our family to build our resilience as we move through this

-The cost of a landline (cell service on our property is weak, and phone calls are quite important right now)

-Mobility devices such as walkers, installation of extra railings and support bars in our home, other unforeseen medical and mobility aids for David

Your generosity will ease the financial and emotional strain on David and his family and allow them to focus on what matters most: his healing.

Thank you so much for your kindness and support. Every bit of help means the world to us.

Who is David Aubrey Berger?

With over 30 years of experience in education and leadership development, David has dedicated himself to innovative and transformative learning experiences. He began his journey in education while completing a Master’s degree in Environmental Philosophy at York University, where he taught first- and second-year courses.

David co-founded and was the principal of AVRO Academy, a private high school in Toronto specializing in individualized and environmental education. Under his leadership, AVRO extended its programs internationally to Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Tangier, Morocco. He has touched the lives of many students and mentees, inspiring them to think differently about education and life.

Beyond academia, David has been deeply involved in the arts and community engagement, running an annual arts festival Spiritfest for nearly two decades. He is the author of The Power of the Circle, a book on group facilitation and process, and is an active member of many groups and communities, creative and spiritual.

David and his partner of 14 years, Shara Claire, embarked on an 8-month road trip journey 3 years ago in a small van to determine where they wished to live. They fell in love with Denman Island and were thrilled to make it their home in 2023, marrying there in 2024.

David is a proud father to Tamalei, 27, and Saskia, 23, and a friend to many. David loves his life and gives so much to others — he is beloved in his communities as we knew already, and have especially seen through this journey!

And on that note — David is offering a free download of his book The Power of the Circle - on education, group facilitation and process to anyone who would like it.

His website: https://www.davidaubreyberger.com/

(Click on the “Resource” page, scroll to bottom, download pdf)

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A note on how we are thinking about this,

and inviting you to think about this with us:

We are through the panic and initial shock of all this, and although there are many hard days, many hard hours, we are in a place of saying YES to this journey that Life has given us, wherever it leads.

We are not calling it a “fight” or a “battle” to be “won” or “lost.” This is a path that Life has given us to walk, and walk it we will. David is moving firmly in the direction of treatment and healing and life. We are also keenly aware of the Great Mystery that holds us all, and that we never quite know when our journey will be complete, or what challenges and blessings we will receive along the way.

We have had a crash course in this wild and beautiful paradox over the past three weeks.

What is healing? And what is it to live, to really live well?

If you have a relationship with prayer, or even if you don’t, we are inviting you to breathe deeply into your heart space, relax your body, and ask for David to be able to heal, to live fully, and to complete his life’s work. Your prayers, blessings, good wishes, emails, Facebook comments, texts, letters, all mean the world to us. Any positive stories of healing disease, or stories about how we have been a part of your life are meaningful to us right now. It takes a village to support someone’s healing. Thank you for being with us on this journey!

A few thoughts from David:

Life is an incredible journey, and you never know what direction it's going to take. I feel like this particular piece of the journey is about my racing mind trying desperately to find a way for the world to be whole, healthy, and connected. I have lived at the edge—my mother died when I was four years old, and it has always felt like the edge is close by. This has sometimes taken away my ability to be really present in my heart, and in my relationships. I know that this has hurt those who are close to me. I have traded the big picture of what I see possible for the world for the inhabiting of my present moment.

How we live, and how we teach and how we grow has been important for me. I’m reminded of a movie called FernGully. In it, the beast who is destroying the forest and life itself is seen as needing to grow in order to transform. Krista the heroine must bring a seed and its life-giving information into the heart of the beast, not knowing if she herself will survive the encounter.

I feel like that is similar to the place I’m in—bringing life energy to the places that are not healthy within my being. Arriving at this edge, I feel like I want to bring my energy to serve life itself. I want all of life to grow in a healthy and sustainable manner.

I had a dream after surgery of a patch of green grass with some strips of it growing too fast, frighteningly fast.

Also, an image of a warm, red, full heart. An invitation to drop into heart-space. An image of a bright, clear blue sky in my head.

This journey has been a challenge for our whole family. Not being able to walk much, needing help so many times a day, navigating our healthcare system, considering options, being both hopeful and scared for each of us. That is the work, and we are doing the work.

Love,

David