Dori's Journey Home...the final goodbye
Today at 12:52pm Dori's journey came to an end. My dear
sweet friend is NO longer in pain and is at peace.
Cancer is indeed a bit of hell on Earth but none is more
devastating than glioblastoma-multiforme....the most aggressive
and malignant of known primary brain cancers. Glioblastoma NOT only kills the
body as it literally eats away at one's brain, but it kills who the person
is...the essence of one's being...and does so long before the body succumbs. And while there is NO cure for glioblastoma...16
to 18 months tops even with treatment...with treatment meaning that the quality of
life only gets a bit better for those whose cancer is caught early and surgically
removed, and then followed up with radiation and chemotherapy.
But glio comes back...it always in
the end comes back...such is the nature of the beast whether treated or
untreated. Dori had two craniotomies within
nine months to remove two tumors from her brain and was scheduled for a third surgery, but her pre-op
MRI showed it to be a no-go as the primary tumor had spread, bore 'baby'
tumors, and was sending out 'feelers' deep within her brain. And with those
'feelers' Dori's metamorphosis away from who she once was began. Within weeks my friend, a former OR nurse, was transformed into either a five year old child or a blank slate
who knew NO one NOT even her family or closest friends. Brief periods of
lucidity would surface from time to time, but as a nurse my friend knew her
future was now gone.
And through the months leading up
to today's end, battles were fought on the bureaucratic side that NO one facing
the end of their life should ever have to fight. Battles with her private insurance company
after she was turned down as a participant in a new 'vaccine' trial that
showed promise of buying glio patients many months of additional life...battles
with the same insurance company over yet again being turned down for a last ditch
effort to gain her some more time by using a standard, albeit NOT yet proven
effective for glio patients, an old and fairly reasonable cost-efficient drug...battles
with Hospice (general term NOT the company per se) over the length of time service
would be provided when end-of-life care was sadly what was to be...and all
these battles were fought because of the changes in health care rules and
regulations due to the monstrosity known as ObamaCare.
And in the months with NO treatment
while the battle against the ObamaCare controlled insurance companies was being
fought Dori had NO treatment at all, thus allowing the glio to run rampant and
overtake her brain...and so the Dori I knew...the Dori who I made years of
memories with was gone.
Gone amidst tears, amidst pain, amidst things best left unsaid...my hero...one of my dearest and closest friends went home to join her mom and dad...a family reunited amongst the clouds of Heaven.
Dori's Journey Home is my tribute to
my friend...is a brief glimpse into the nightmare that is ObamaCare...and it was
Dori's wish to have her story told so that others NEVER have to face their end
of life as she was forced to face hers.
So goodbye my dear friend...I love you and I will surely miss you...but someday we
will see each other again...of that I am certain.