My Marine has a Schwannoma brain tumor

I still remember the day that I walked in the hospital room, saw my husband laying in the bed and three doctors standing in the room. "Your husband has a brain tumor..." the doctors explained to me. I immediately went into shock. I did not cry, my first concern was how he was feeling. I held his hand and told him I loved him. Then we walked down the hall to a private room where we viewed the MRI scans. That is when it really hit me. I did my best to stay strong but I felt hot, cold, sweaty, dizzy and nauseas all at the same time.

That moment in time was when our lives changed. Within a few days I quit my job so I could dedicate myself to my husband's medical needs. We attended multiple medical appointments and Travis had his first surgery on May 8, 2006. After about 11 hours in the OR I saw my husband and that same sick feeling returned. I was thankful that he was alive but sickened at the condition that he was in. But my husband is brave and strong and makes no excuses. Less than two months after surgery he returned to work. He refused to give up, he loved being a Marine.

Following his surgery he continued to work while juggling his follow up appointments. He was on a variety of heavy medication, had double vision, and intense headaches but he refused to let that keep him down.

He began to experience complications and he reported them to his doctors. He was given CT scans but it was not until he had an MRI that we got the news we never expected to hear. On December 21, 2006 we received a call from his doctors that Travis' tumor had returned and it was larger than before his surgery. Because it was so close to the holidays we decided to keep the sad news from our families so that they could enjoy them.

Travis' doctors could not decide what to do to treat him. First we were told he would need radiation. After the radiation was scheduled, it was canceled. We were told that radiation would not work and he would have his tumor removed through his nose. This sounded great because it was less invasive. Then the doctors changed their minds again, all the while the clock was ticking and the tumor was growing. Because the doctors could not decide what to do for Travis, he sent emails out to neurosurgeons around the nation begging them for help.

A renowned neurosurgeon from Stanford contacted my husband. We flew up north for the consultation and then quickly scheduled the surgery. We felt confident with this new doctor. He explained to us that Travis' tumor never should have been left alone after his first surgery and the only way to kill it was to remove the majority of it and then radiate the remainder of it.

July 13, 2007 Travis had his second surgery. This time it was only 4 hours. November 2007 Travis received two treatments of CyberKnife radiation. April 2008 we followed up with the neurosurgeon at Stanford and we were given hope that it will not return.

We are ecstatic that my husband fought this battle but we are disappointed in the initial medical care that he received. We are also disappointed that because of his down time he is being forced to medically retire from the Marine Corps. Because my husband has double vision and numbness on the left side of his face and on his left eye he will have to leave the Marine Corps. after almost 12 years or service.

(I created www.wonky-eye.com to provide support and hope for other families forced to fight brain tumors.)