Christine Penner

On Monday, September 11, 2017, I started my six weeks of chemotherapy and radiation. I was ready to move forward - to work hard at staying as healthy as possible. Unfortunately these six weeks were a bit tough at times. In my first week my head mask for my five days a week radiation treatments was super tight, and the daily chemo pills I was taking caused me to feel quite ill. Thankfully, hospital staff did what they could to make my head mask a bit more comfy and adjusted medications to combat the side effects of chemo pills. This made me feel a lot better. My second week went well. Unfortunately I became quite ill in my third week. I woke up feeling lots of pain around my chest. My husband drove me to the hospital where I immediately was taken to see a doctor in the Cancer Care urgent care unit at the Health Sciences Centre. After several tests I was told that I had blood clots in both of my lungs. I was given blood thinners and now need to give myself an injection every day. Thank...

Throughout the five weeks after my surgery I had the opportunity to spend time with family and friends, and to go for daily walks. I received many emails and was excited to get lots of visitors in my home. I regularly went to see my parents. My parents don’t drive anymore so I always got a ride to go see them since my driver’s license was taken away on the day I was diagnosed with a brain tumour. My husband and my sister Bev are my wonderful drivers.   Throughout the month of August, and the September long weekend, I was able to spend some time at our cottage. For the first time in my life I had to make some major changes. I slept every afternoon and I was no longer able to sit in the sunshine without a hat on my head and multiple layers of sunscreen. A week after my surgery my 36 staples on my head were taken out. This type of surgery made it crucial for me to wear a hat in the sunshine. I had never in my life ever worn a big hat so I was grateful to have received one fr...

As the superintendent in the Interlake School Division in Manitoba, Canada, I decided to take some holiday time in the month of July 2017. I had a wonderful time with family and friends, and enjoyed spending some time at our cottage. At the end of the month when my husband and I were at our cottage, I was incomprehensive for a short period of time which later was diagnosed as a seizure. As a result, I went to emergency at the Health Sciences Centre at 6:00 a.m. on July 26, 2017. After a day of tests, x-rays and scans, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. My surgery took place August 8, 2017, at the Health Sciences Centre. Dr. Lorraine Stanko was my anaesthetist. Two surgeons, Dr. Anthony Kaufmann and Dr. Demitre Serletis, did a remarkable job taking out a good chunk of my brain on the left side. The incision was quite a bit bigger than I anticipated. I ended up with 36 staples! Four days after the surgery I was discharged. I was happy to go home! My beautiful grandson Finn!...