Sharon's health (Stan's Facebook updates)
Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 8:47 -0700
I know this should go under Ronin Ramblings, but I wanted to make sure you all know about it so posted this in the Main Forum.
If you were at WonderCon, you probably noticed that my wife, Sharon, was not up to her usual perkiness. She has a brain tumor. It is benign, but inoperable. It was first discovered in 2004, when she suddenly went deaf in her left ear. It is inoperable and she underwent radiation therapy, which seemed to control it.
However, it is back, and quite aggressively. Because she had radiation quite recently it is not an option, so she is undergoing chemo therapy. The tumor has paralyzed the left side of her face, affecting her mouth, eyes, etc. It has also frozen the left side of her vocal chords. They have been artificially "plumped" so she can speak, but sometimes unclearly and in a hoarse whisper. It has also deteriorated her skull where it connects to the spinal cord, making her unable to turn her head up, down, and sideways. There are a lot of other side effects caused either by the Meningioma tumor or her medication--high blood pressure, rapid heart beat, dehydration, diabetes, etc--but these are the most obvious. She has also lost a lot of weight and moves slowly and tires easily.
I've been taking her to the doctors' 2-3 times a week. This is the reason I have been declining invitations to travel and am behind on deadlines (Dark Horse has been great about this). There has been no growth in the tumor in the past few months, which is the best news we can hope for right now.
Sharon really enjoys going to Comic-con, and will see a lot of you there. I'm bringing this up because you will wonder what is wrong with her. All the problems are physical. Her wonderful personality is the same. We've hired a friend to help us at the booth, and I want to limit Sharon's time at the booth. But, like I said, she really enjoys the con and seeing all of you.
If you were at WonderCon, you probably noticed that my wife, Sharon, was not up to her usual perkiness. She has a brain tumor. It is benign, but inoperable. It was first discovered in 2004, when she suddenly went deaf in her left ear. It is inoperable and she underwent radiation therapy, which seemed to control it.
However, it is back, and quite aggressively. Because she had radiation quite recently it is not an option, so she is undergoing chemo therapy. The tumor has paralyzed the left side of her face, affecting her mouth, eyes, etc. It has also frozen the left side of her vocal chords. They have been artificially "plumped" so she can speak, but sometimes unclearly and in a hoarse whisper. It has also deteriorated her skull where it connects to the spinal cord, making her unable to turn her head up, down, and sideways. There are a lot of other side effects caused either by the Meningioma tumor or her medication--high blood pressure, rapid heart beat, dehydration, diabetes, etc--but these are the most obvious. She has also lost a lot of weight and moves slowly and tires easily.
I've been taking her to the doctors' 2-3 times a week. This is the reason I have been declining invitations to travel and am behind on deadlines (Dark Horse has been great about this). There has been no growth in the tumor in the past few months, which is the best news we can hope for right now.
Sharon really enjoys going to Comic-con, and will see a lot of you there. I'm bringing this up because you will wonder what is wrong with her. All the problems are physical. Her wonderful personality is the same. We've hired a friend to help us at the booth, and I want to limit Sharon's time at the booth. But, like I said, she really enjoys the con and seeing all of you.
