Building Independence

Following a Grand Mal seizure after a hockey game in December of 2010 an MRI revealed that Chad had a brain tumour.

He had it surgically removed in January of 2011 with an infection, follow-up surgeries for bone removal and replacement. He then went through Radiation Treatment at the Cross Cancer Institute that summer. Chad was hopeful there would only be one tumour and returned to work.

In 2013 that same tumour recurred and surgery was again required. Following this surgery Chad was an inpatient at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital for two months overcoming paralysis and learning how to walk again.

In January, March and November of 2015 three separate operations for three new tumours that were in different locations than the original tumour were required. 

In March 2016, another recurrence required a brief stay the University.

December of 2016 was the biggest operation yet. The original tumour from 2011 again recurred and its removal left Chad confined to a wheelchair and rendered the entire left side of his body with moderate stroke like deficits.

In January of 2017 Chad was again admitted as an inpatient at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital for rehabilitation of many of activities of daily living, such as dressing independently.

The inpatient rehabilitation stay was interrupted by another new tumour that he had removed in June of 2017. After the June surgery Chad was readmitted back into the Glenrose.

Having finally been discharged to home in August of this year, he headed back to the Glenrose at the end of October, following Chad's 9th surgery that was this October 11th.

As a team, we have endured so much together including participating in promising clinical trials, which unfortunately he didn't respond to and meeting with specialists. We've also completed Genetics testing, in hopes of being ready when science catches up with the right approach to tackle these persistent tumours.

In a short period, we may have had our share of hardship, but a lot of good has transpired too. We met, fell in love and married July 2014. We knew that these tumours weren't going to decide how we lived, and on January 30, 2016 we welcomed our beautiful daughter Madeline into our lives. We have been so fortunate to have a village of people who, without fail ensure we keep going, sending us so much love that we can't stop to be sad ... at least not for long.

Now, we're asking for help as we renovate a home to be barrier free and allow Chad to live comfortably in a wheelchair. The home will have wide doors, and hallways, a roll in shower and an elevator to ensure he can access the whole home. We know that Chad might not be able to do this without help so we will have an aide to help Chad live at home. 

Thank you for reading our story and helping us to roll forward, and stay hopeful that the cure is just around the corner.