My husband is forgetting our family — a tumor is eating his brain
A British father of two, who may only have three months left to live, is beginning to forget his family — and any memory of his wedding day.
Kirsty Chorlton, a 34-year-old from Wales, says time is running out for her 37-year-old husband, Wayne.
He was reportedly diagnosed with a butterfly glioma, a rare type of brain tumor that is slowly eating away at his brain. Memory loss is just one symptom of the tragic illness.
“We’ve been left completely devastated as a family, as his memory has gone really bad, and he can’t remember much of his daily routine or big life moments,” Chorlton told Jam Press.
The couple recently renewed their vows in front of their two young daughters, Daisy-Marie, 4, and Evie, 2, to give Wayne new memories of his life.
“Wayne is [so young], and we should have the rest of our lives together. It doesn’t feel real knowing I’ll have to one day bury my soulmate, the father of my children,” Chorlton told the outlet.
“I’m scared to death of the unknown, but our vow renewal was the best day ever.”
The couple met in April 2010 — immediately smitten with one another.
Wayne proposed eight months later, and the rest was history — or so they thought.
In December 2014, Wayne started having what was described as “blinding headaches.” These horrible episodes reportedly caused him to collapse and changed the way he acted — namely, he started drinking hand soap.
He was told the symptoms could be attributed to a migraine, but after several visits with an optician and MRI and PET scans, he was diagnosed with the rare brain tumor.
He underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy for the next six years, but in February, his family was told his tumor was no longer responding to treatment.
“It was very exhausting, especially being told his cancer was terminal and had spread to the rest of his brain, possibly his spinal cord too,” Chorlton said.
She believes Wayne’s memory became worse a few months ago after he endured a two-hour seizure. She said doctors told her he would be dead within hours.
“He was unresponsive for over 30 hours before coming back around, but I think this worsened his memory,” she explained.
Chorlton said she was instructed by doctors to ask her husband routine questions to keep his brain active, but he barely remembered some of the most important things in his life.
“It was horrible, because I had to keep reminding him that his nana had passed away, and I knew from that moment that he couldn’t remember anything beyond that date,” she revealed.
Chorlton’s mother, Kathleen Heafield, is fundraising to help Wayne make memories with his family.
She’s gathered more than $2,500 in donations, as of Wednesday, via GoFundMe.
For her part, Chorlton admitted she is “terrified” to raise her kids without her husband.
“It’s breaking my heart that I can’t stop this [from] happening to him, but I love Wayne so much,” she said.
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else other than by his side, as it’s always been us two for the last 13 years, and I will continue to be here until the unthinkable day comes.”