WHERE ARE THEY NOW
Linda Savarin-Pfeil takes health setbacks in stride.
FLASHBACK: In our wellness issue of 2012, Grand featured a moving story about Linda Savarin-Pfeil of Kitchener, who had been diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2008.
Savarin-Pfeil, just 36 at the time of the interview, shared her journey from that of a healthy young mother with no symptoms, through the emotional turmoil and physical hardship of diagnosis and 15 months of chemotherapy. Through it all, she focused on wellness and taking charge of her health.
TODAY: The last two scans have shown that the tumour is stable, but that was not the case in 2013. Linda underwent surgery followed by six weeks of radiation. This is an edited version of Grand editor Kathy Storring’s email interview with Linda. For the full interview, go to www.grandmagazine.ca.
Q: Linda, I am so glad to hear that the tumour is stable again and that you are doing well, but I understand that 2013 was a difficult year. What was your first indication that the tumour was growing?
A: Thank you, Kathy. It actually began in September 2012 when I had an intense seizure out of the blue. I had been seizurefree for almost three years, so it really caught me off guard. I had several MRI scans that showed that the tumour was still stable, no change, until May 2013. The growth was so minimal, but enough to trigger seizures again.
Q: And the result was a craniotomy – performed while you were awake. Even for someone as balanced as you are, that must have been a frightening prospect. What is involved in the surgery — and how does one prepare for it emotionally?
A: My original neurosurgeon had retired and the new neurosurgeon looked at my MRI and said he believed he could remove about 50 per cent of the tumour.
The doctors told me to “think about it,” but I knew almost instantly that my answer was “yes.” I had been waiting for an opportunity like this for a long time. It just felt like the right thing to do. All those years I was told that the tumour was inoperable, so, I was excited and in disbelief at the same time.
I don’t remember being frightened; in fact, I was anxious to get it over with. The only time I got emotional was when they rolled me into the operating room and I had to let go of my husband Marcus’ hand. That was a difficult moment for the both of us.
Once I was in the room, I was ready to get down to business.
There were two surgeons, two anesthesiologists and several nurses. My memories of the surgery fade in and out because they gave me a type of amnesia drug to prevent me from remembering everything.
It was important to be awake during the surgery. The team would communicate with me, and by asking me various questions, the surgeon knew how far he could cut into my brain without causing permanent damage.
My first memory was opening my eyes and realizing that my head was screwed in four spots, on a halo, so I couldn’t move a millimetre. They had already opened my skull and were working in my brain.
I remember hearing a suction sound
coming from inside my head. The last thing I remember was my entire left side jerked. I told the anesthesiologist and the next thing I knew they were stitching me up.
The entire procedure lasted about four hours, and the end result was that he removed about 70 per cent of the tumour!
Q: You were able to express your illness and healing in philosophical terms in 2012. How has that mindset informed your latest medical journey?
A: I believe that life is 10 per cent what happens to you and 90 per cent how you react to it. I can’t say enough about meditation. It’s what kept me calm throughout the storm. I was able to stay in the moment and take each challenge day by day.
Q: I have no doubt your husband, Marcus, and son Tristan bring deep meaning to your healing. Are there other life lessons in all of this?
A: I went through 5½ weeks of radiation. On the 12th day, my hair started falling out in clumps from the top of my head.
A wonderful radiation tech saw that I was upset and gave me some great advice. He told me not to let the cancer and radiation get me down. He recommended that I take control of the situation and cut my hair off instead of losing chunks of it day after day.
I came home that day and told Marcus and Tristan to come with me to the bathroom. Together, we took turns cutting and shaving my head. It was such a great experience, I felt so empowered.
I was in control of where and when I was going to lose my hair, not the radiation. The best part was Tristan seeing me smile while doing this instead of crying as I did when the hair first started coming out.
I am still having seizures, but not as many as before and I will have an MRI every four months for the next year. Our goal is for the tumour to be stable for decades to come.
The bottom line is that I am so grateful for my life and all the people in it. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.