Welcome to My Personal Page
Since my husband Richie passed from a Glioblastoma in November 2021, I felt compelled to help others diagnosed with this devastating disease in any way I could. Richie was 66 years old strong and healthy when he was diagnosed. He loved hunting, fishing, and hiking and when we retired we walked everyday on the many beautiful trails in the Hudson Valley. Our favorite was the Walkway over the Hudson. He was an electrician and could fix anything in and around the house. He was an overall great, easy going guy with a great sense of humor who never complained about anything and was loved by everyone who met him. It was a difficult journey from when Richie was first diagnosed. We found that there were not many treatment options available and although he had an MRI in October of 2020 after a fall, the tumor was not found until March of 2021 when we noticed he started to have some left sided weakness. At that point, 5 months later, the tumor was a stage 4!
The standard treatment of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation in some ways was worse than the disease itself. It made him tired and weak and after a few months it did not look like he was improving although the follow up MRI did not show any extension or return of the tumor. He became so weak to the point where he couldn't get himself out of bed. It was heart wrenching to see this, makes you feel helpless and leaves you with questions as to the best choice in terms of next steps for treatment. So, we then decided that he would be placed on Hospice care in September. He passed on Nov 26, 2021 one week after his 67th birthday and the day after Thanksgiving, his favorite holiday, as he and his brothers would always go hunting on that day.
I then started to volunteer and advocate for people who have been diagnosed with brain tumors. At first I was mainly focused on those who are diagnosed with Glioblastomas like Richie. I co-facilitated support groups for those who were diagnosed with a Glioblastoma as well as their caregivers. In listening to the many stories, it reinforced to me that there has not been enough research in earlier detection and progress in treatments which would significantly help those diagnosed with brain tumors. This made me broaden my vision to advocate for all types of brain tumors. I saw how brain tumors affect people of all ages and races and decided to advocate with the National Brain Tumor Society
Please help us in our quest.
Richie was my best friend and I miss him everyday.
National Brain Tumor Society is fiercely committed to finding a cure for brain tumors. They are aggressively driving strategic research; advocating for public policies that meet the critical needs of the brain tumor community; and providing comprehensive patient, family and caregiver resources. Your support ensures this important work will continue.
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