Caregiver Tip # 2

“Be the patient’s advocate. Go to doctor appointments with the AN patient. It is hard to remember what questions to ask, or even to remember the answers, when you are still trying to grasp the fact you have a brain tumor.”

There were times when words failed me and I ran out of questions.

Prior to surgery, my family each did research and shared things that they learned. Everyone found different websites sharing various angles on treatment or potential side effects. We were all able to contribute to the compilation of a list of questions prior to each doctor appointment. Having Kayla at doctor appointments helped me capture more of the discussion. Having my family members at the hospital talking to the surgeons after surgery and each day thereafter helped me sort through all the information flying through the air while I was in a fog.

Our shared sense of humor helped us laugh just as we felt tears welling. Laughing kept what we joked as tear “wellage” from turning into “spillage” on more than one occasion. As they say, “If you don’t laugh you’ll cry” – and we chose laughter. When the tears won out, we shared tears.

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