The background to my son's illness

My name is Gregory Cox and I have started this blog to tell the story of my son's illness brought on by a brain tumour that first appeared 5 years ago and cruelly has returned again.

I am Greg Cox - Toby's dad

This was taken in early September before just weeks before the seizure

Five years ago he had a seizure and in a brain tumour was detected. It was a type 4 tumour which is the most serious. He was admitted to Charing Cross Hospital. I remember the fear I felt when his bed fellows in the ward were dying all around him. I saw what looked like healthy people one day gone the next. But then a miracle happened and he recovered enough to go home. For the last few years he has had a restricted but reasonably good life

Another Seizure

Then in September of this year 2016 I received a call from my eldest son Ben who told me he had had a seizure whilst he was on holiday in South Devon could I help out because I was the closest to him being just over an hours drive away. 
I dropped everything and a couple of hours later my wife Gwyneth and I were on our way to Exeter Hospital. We had to retrieve Tobys car from a car park on the coast then tidy and collect all the belongings from the holiday apartment that Toby, Kam (his wife) and Jamie (my grandson) were staying which was about 15 miles away. We, Jamie and I returned to the hospital in the morning. The doctors did some tests and a scan of his head and then released him after a long wait.

The Hell Ride To London
Then we had a 3 hour drive back to London which was awful. Toby was being constantly sick all the way back. It was one of the worst journeys I have ever had to do, but a harder time was yet to come. When we got to London we contacted the ambulance service to take Kam and I to Charing Cross hospital. They obliged . We thought they would see to us quickly because of it, but we were in a queue and had to be with him all night until finally he was admitted. He complained about a loss of feeling on his left side and a terrible headache. Kam and I went home.  

Then we got the news his tumour had returned.They needed to operate. This was not what we wanted to hear. Toby himself told me he would be ok because his faith would see him through but we all knew we were going to be tested. Everything we went through 5 years earlier was happening again, coming back to haunt us once more. But unfortunately this time his recovery has had setbacks and it has broken my heart to see my Toby fight so hard again to beat this horrible condition.
Since the operation in September he has had a very slow recovery with the first setback being an infection taking place. They operated to clean and remove it.
What I forgot to mention is he had been moved to another facility to help him with the physio necessary to get him to use his left leg and arm again. 

Loss of Faith
He has been in a very low mood since the start of his treatment and has 'lost his faith'. 
Cruelly after a return to the physio facility and a more positive outlook, yet again the infection has returned. We all feel devastated that he has to go through this again. It is heartbreaking that this has happened and as I write this he is returning today 28th Nov 2016 to Charing Cross.

My Appeal To You

I appeal to you to help out our family. We are vulnerable, I am 66 years old and have high blood pressure and my anxiety does not help.The stress is so great.
Toby could not work after his first operation five years ago and so times have been tough for Kam and my grand-kids since then. Now we have Christmas upon us and we are not looking forward to it.
I have to believe Toby will survive this and we can make his life better by having the funds to help.
Thank you for taking the time to read this sad story. I live with hope in my heart and I will update you all on the state of thing in the future.
My sincere thoughts
Love
Greg Cox