A Life Changing Experience and Its Impact on My Professional Development as a Genetic Counsellor
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PROFESSIONAL ISSUES
A Life Changing Experience and Its Impact on My Professional Development as a Genetic Counsellor Lisa Gordon
Received: 6 October 2011 / Accepted: 16 November 2011 / Published online: 2 December 2011 # National Society of Genetic Counselors, Inc. 2011
Keywords Life changing experience
It was almost a year ago that my life changed, and on reflection now I can say for the better, as I value the simple things more and enjoy every day. I am married with two boys, who were 3 years and 5 years old at the time. My family had just returned from a holiday and were feeling relaxed after the recent Easter break. My husband had taken some extra days off, while I returned to work. He had been suffering from some back pain for a while and physiotherapy was not helping. On the insistence of family, he had an X-ray on his back the day I returned to work. The results indicated a black area on scan and a tumour was suspected. What followed was a whirlwind of more tests, a CT scan confirming a tumour at the base of his spinal cord, quite large in size (6 cm by 4 cm by 4 cm). We were in shock! A referral was initially made to a neurosurgeon, followed by further consultations and management by an orthopaedic surgeon who specialised in tumours of the spinal cord. MRI scans, biopsy and full body scan followed. I remember the days vividly and how our life quickly spiralled into a downward twist—this could not be happening!
L. Gordon (*) Genetics Department, The Royal Women’s Hospital, Cnr Grattan St & Flemington Rd, Parkville, Melbourne, VIC, Australia 3053 e-mail: [email protected] L. Gordon Genetic Health Services Victoria, Royal Children’s Hospital, Flemington Rd, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 3053
Those first days were a blur. I remember our family members visiting one by one, bringing food, muffins, and chocolate—all comfort food and great help for me. We didn’t know the extent of my husband’s illness at this stage but were preparing for the worst. The most difficult time was the waiting. Waiting for further tests (biopsy and MRI scans, and further appointments) and waiting to receive these results, it seemed like months. I vividly remember the day we went to see the orthopaedic surgeon for the final biopsy results. It was a cool sunny day in April. Our kids were being looked after by my parents, and my husband’s parents drove us to the appointment, in case it was bad and we couldn’t drive. We prepared in our minds for the worst—cancer, and the rest. It turned out that day, brought much wanted relief—it wasn’t cancer and was likely to be benign. We were rejoicing even though we were not through the woods yet—my husband needed major surgery, he might need radiotherapy and there might be complications such as loss of function and control of bladder, etc. These risks seemed minor at the time—it wasn’t cancer! My husband had successful surgery in May; the tumour was successfully removed and confirmed to be benign. He recovered after 3 months of being out of work and is now back to normal fitness. He has had
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