Steves battle with terminal brain tumour

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In August 2021 Steve, the love of my life and soulmate, was diagnosed with Grade 4 Glioblastoma, the worst kind of brain tumour, and given 9-12 months to live.

After suffering from severe headaches and speech loss for over two months, with the help of Steve's fantastic sister, we finally got a doctor to arrange an MRI scan. Unfortunately, the results confirmed our worst fears.

A zoom call with a neurosurgeon told us Steve had two options, 1 do nothing with just a few weeks left to live, or 2, have brain surgery to remove as much of the tumour as possible, followed by more treatment to extend life expectancy.

Our whole world was turned upside down, but we had no time to process it. Eight days until surgery, with many more tests and scans to be done in preparation, Steve's symptoms worsened every day.

Steve underwent a six-hour awake craniotomy. He had to be awake the whole time so the surgeons knew what they could and couldn’t remove, and with that, they were able to remove 80% of the tumour. Any more, and he would have been left unable to speak.

I was lucky enough to see him soon after surgery, and the change was a miracle; for two months, Steve had been slipping away in front of me, and now it was like having the old Steve back.

After surgery, Steve underwent rigorous treatment of 30 days of Radiotherapy combined with Chemotherapy. And while he did amazingly well through it, the delayed side effects hit him hard, losing his strength and mobility.

We've spent 2022 building his strength back up and getting Steve walking again with the fantastic help of a Physio.

We are incredibly thankful to have surpassed Steves initial prognosis of one year. And continue to push with positive thoughts and plenty of adventure! ❤️

Lots of love,

Lizzy x