(Written from a Mother’s perspective)
This is the story of my beautiful, adventurous, caring, courageous and beloved daughter Monica whom we all miss, until we meet again.
Monica was a happy child, active in sport, doing well at school and excited to finish her high school.
Monica was a healthy child and was 15 years of age at the time when she started complaining of headaches, (pain in side or behind her eyes) followed by nausea and vomiting. It escalated to almost everyday and this went on for a week.
We had her checked by a Doctor and he said it was sinuses. She continued feeling sick and a friend of mine at an Optometrist suggested that I take Monica to an Ophthalmologist to have this thoroughly checked out.
A week later I decided to take her to have her eyes tested at the Ophthalmologist. I saw the shock on his face after he finished looking in her eyes. He then shared the bad news, my daughter had bleeding on the brain and that I should take her to a hospital immediately.
At the hospital they admitted her and proceeded with tests including a MRI scan. The MRI confirmed that her brain was swollen and there were signs of bleeding on the brain. They immediately put her on a drip with medication to help bring down the swelling on the brain.
Monica had to stay in hospital for that entire week. They then decided to operate. The surgery lasted a total of four hours.
The prognosis was a Cellular Ependymoma grade 2 cancerous tumour.
They had to shave off her hair which caused emotional distress, as she had beautiful long brown hair. She felt very embarrassed about her hair.
The next step was chemo therapy. We were referred to Oncology. The people at this specific Oncology department were very good and explained the procedure to me and everything I needed to know.
Monica received radiation treatment and chemo therapy for a entire month. It was all very tiresome.
On the days she received chemo treatment she was very rundown and would not see anybody. Her face was swollen due to the intense therapy and cortisone. She felt isolated from the world. Mentally I could see this affected her, yet spiritually she was a strong person.
A few friends came to visit her but sadly her personality changed and she was not the same person she was before.
During the month of December 2005 the Oncologist was happy with the treatment and he had given her the clearance. We were all so happy that she could go back to school the following year.
She went back to school that next year, 2006, and she went on a leadership camp. Before she left to go on the camp she complained of tingling in her fingers. When she returned the symptoms seem to have worsen.
I made contact with the surgeon and he advised me that we take Monica for a CT scan. The results was not the news we wanted to hear.
The tumour was back again. We booked her in for surgery. This time it seemed worse than the first time .
Again they operated on her for four hours. When they pushed her out of theater I could see she was not doing well at all.
The results came back for the biopsy that they took during surgery. It was now called a Anaplastic Ependymoma grade 3 tumour.
This tumour caused so much damage, it effected the whole left side of my daughter’s body and she struggled to walk.
I could see the immediate effect it had on Monica’s physical and emotional life. She went into a depression. Monica could not go back to school. She landed up in a wheel chair and could not help herself to the bathroom anymore. Monica could not bath or shower on her own.
The Doctor at Oncology treated her with a tablet called Temodar for a month. Monica had to have three more sessions only as she could not have anymore radiation.
Monica battled to eat and drink on her own and she needed help 24/7.
As a mother, to watch your child go through this is devastating. I had to physically pick her up and lay her down and this took a toll on my body.
I felt there was no further support provided from a medical perspective, yet they knew Monica’s condition. There was no follow up care for both Monica or us as her family.
The last three months of her life was very difficult for me as her care giver and Mother.
The day came that she had to go to hospice, where they took care of the pain by giving her morphine. The next morning they told me Monica’s body was shutting down and going into organ failure, as the tumour was now spreading fast to the rest of her body.
On the 27 April 2007 she passed away in hospice.
I hope and pray that my precious daughter’s life story will comfort many hearts.
I was privileged to give birth to my daughter Monica and to share her last days with her. May everyone who reads my story feel motivated to share their own story about the challenges of brain cancer and loosing a child. In this way we know we are not alone in fighting this disease.
GenesisLightFoundation 