Heavily pregnant woman has a seizure – it’s a brain tumour
Chloe Dodunski was expecting to go into labour at any time.
It was two days past the due date for her second child.
But at 6.30am one day in June, she started making guttural noises that woke her husband, Stefan, who was already on leave from work in preparation for the birth.
He turned on the light and saw her lying shaking on her side, eyes wide open but unresponsive. He put her in the recovery position and called an ambulance to their home in Halcombe, Manawatū.
A short time later, Chloe arrived at the Palmerston North Hospital emergency department, where her midwife was already on hand to check that the baby was OK. She was. But Mum wasn’t. A CT scan showed a large mass on her brain.
What happened during the next week was a bit of a blur for Chloe. She remembers being told about the growth and asking whether that was serious.
Stefan remembers there was much debate about what to do next, in which order, and where.
Chloe was showing pre-labour signs, and allowing her to progress into labour and a natural birth was out of the question considering what was going on with her brain.
Two days after Chloe’s seizure, baby Mila was born by emergency caesarean section while her mum was under general anaesthetic.
The little girl weighed in at more than 4kg and was safe and healthy.
Chloe was transferred to Wellington Hospital for brain surgery, during which most of the tumour was removed.
It was diagnosed as an aggressive oligodendroglioma, at grade three on a scale of one to four, where four means terminal.
The couple were told it would shorten her life. Further treatment with radiotherapy and chemotherapy was expected to give her another six to eight years before it recurred.
Chloe was not impressed with the prognosis. “I refuse to leave my babies,” she said. “I have a lot of things I would like to do with my life. I have a horse to ride, a charity to run, and I want to travel.”
That horse is Rosie, whom she has had for eight years, and the charity is The Tenth Reindeer, which collects donated gifts to be distributed to children who need them at Christmas.
Now back home in Halcombe and halfway through a 30-session course of radiotherapy, Chloe is remembering how to carry out everyday tasks. She’s feeling optimistic despite the fatigue and the coming distress over losing her hair.
Looking back,
Chloe realises the tumour must have been growing for years. Any symptoms that she did have, such as headaches, nose bleeds and vague moments of memory loss, were similar to how she had felt during her first pregnancy with son Cayden, now aged 4. She put those hints of symptoms down to “baby brain”. The couple have been surrounded by family and friends to help them through the drama, treatment and convalescence. Chloe said she was happy to go public with her story. “There’s a really good lesson in this – not just for myself, but for everyone. Life is not actually guaranteed for any of us ever. People die of worse things than cancer. And we are all heading to the same place – we are walking each other home. I feel I will live life better now.”
In the meantime, Chloe faces the prospect of Stefan returning to work, while her own parental leave will become extended sick leave. Fortunately, the couple are surrounded by supportive family members available to drive, to take Cayden to preschool and mind Phoebe the dog.
There is also the support of friends, who set up a Givealittle page to help them through.