Tina's Story

Tina’s story sounds strikingly similar to Chris’s story. Tina was 31 years old, married and the mother of two beautiful little girls, Gabriella, 4, and Marissa, 2. She was a paralegal for a law firm in Waterbury, CT and one day hoped to go back and become a lawyer. She had just begun building the home of her dreams with her husband and children in her hometown and was truly happy.

She was at work in July 1998, and started to feel ill. She thought she might be having an adverse reaction to the seafood salad sandwich she had for lunch as she began to get a really terrible taste in her mouth. As she began to feel sicker, she knew something was wrong and so one of her colleagues brought her to the local emergency room.

While she was in the waiting room of the ER, Tina fell off her chair and had a grand mal seizure. This is where her horrific journey began. In the beginning, they thought she might have meningitis but then a CAT scan proved otherwise. She had a glioblastoma multiforme stage four tumor in her brain.

Tina fought valiantly through brain surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, only to have the tumor keep returning with tentacles that began to overtake her brain. She eventually lost her sight, ability to walk, and much of her personality, but through it all, never lost the will to fight to stay alive for her family. Shortly before her death, she had a moment of complete clarity where she was herself and had a chance to say goodbye to her family and friends.

Tina fought for two long years and finally lost her battle on December 2, 2000 surrounded by her family while at a Hospice care facility.