Support the Hikuroa family while Tahu undergoes treatment for serious tumours.
Canterbury
This give a little page is for friends, family and supporters of Jo, Tahu and Knox to give money to help the Hikuroa family. Even if you can't donate (and that's ok) please share this page so that others can. Thank you so much.
The story so far:
On Friday 24th February Tahu went to our GP as he had been having migraines and an incident of not being able to talk. He passed her assessment but she was concerned enough to send him for a CT scan (and marked it semi urgent).
On Monday February 27th Tahu was called at 1pm saying they could do a CT scan for him at Southern Cross hospital at 3.30pm. By 3.45pm they had told him he wasn’t allowed to drive and they were calling him a taxi to take him to Christchurch Public Hospital. He was admitted immediately. They had found a mass in his brain which they estimated at the time to be the size of a golf ball. He spent the rest of the week in hospital having tests including a standard MRI, a functional MRI and speech, occupational and physio therapy assessments.
At the first meeting with Tahu’s surgeon we learnt that the original tumor had been there since Tahu was very young as it has caused the bone in his skull to change shape and this only happens pre 13. This is something usually picked up in childhood due to black outs etc but this never happened for Tahu.
A second tumour had now started growing from that original one and that was what was causing the migraines and speech issues. He was scheduled for surgery the following week but allowed home in the meantime which was such a relief for all of us.
Tahu had surgery on Tuesday March 7th to have a biopsy taken of the tumour. A biopsy sounds small but it is most definitely a big deal when it’s in the brain. He ended up with 22 staples and a piece of bone removed (and put back) about the size of a biscuit. He spent a day or so in the special care unit and then was moved onto the ward which was great cos he could actually get some rest there. Much less activity! The next morning we were told he would have to stay in for at least another night but that we could take him out for a couple of hours so we organised for my parents and Gail, Tahu’s mum to bring Knox to Hagley Park between the Museum and the hospital so we could have lunch together in the sun. This time we didn’t have to use a wheelchair (well we just didn’t ask if we had to) so it was a lot easier!
And then when we got back Tahu’s nurse came over and said Tahu could go home! Of course it was a couple more hours before he actually got to go home but it was still awesome news! We spent the next week or so at home waiting for information from the hospital which was tough but got easier the longer it took. I was able to catch up on work and Tahu watched Breaking Bad and a lot of sport!
11am on Monday March 20 we met with Tahu’s surgeon to talk through his diagnosis and treatment options. I know everyone was hoping for the best but that isn’t what we got.
The short version is that he has a grade 4 Glioblastoma Multiforme which is very aggressive. If he has no treatment he will only have weeks-months. With treatment it will still grow back. There is no cure for this, just treatment that keeps it at bay for 9-12 months at a time.
The longer version is this. There are two tumours, one that has been there a very long time and has been low grade and has now changed to being mostly high grade. The second one is high grade and has grown from that original tumour and been there probably 6 months. The tumour looks very different to his brain and the parts of the brain they are touching aren’t being used much, if at all, so removing 95-99% of it is possible. This is what they will do next Tuesday. They think the only issues he might have is with speech afterwards. He will hopefully be in hospital for 4-7 days if all goes well.
After that he will have radiation therapy which goes for 6 weeks and at the same time he will start chemo which goes for 6 months.
Page created by Chrissy Robertson, Jo and Tahu's niece and Tahu's co-worker.
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