It was impossible to know what the best course of action was, but we decided that a biopsy would at least allow us to know what we were up against. There was no other way the oncologist could diagnose the level of tumour or required therapy. It didn’t go to plan, but we did get a definitive diagnosis. Since Sue’s seizure and the resulting MRI, we knew this was advanced and in an area of her brain where invasive surgery was strongly advised against. ‘They can’t remove what they can’t see’, was the ultimatum. Sue lost the ability to walk over three months after that and atrophy has been my greatest fear. We both led active lifestyles and I was determined that this would continue, despite the news, despite the cancer. We went out every morning religiously, two hours on the trot, two hours of daylight before midday, me pushing her ahead at often jogging pace, with Drum and Bass playing on our B&O speaker at full volume. I thought I would shake her endorphins out and fight the bad cells through exercise and positive neurology, even if she couldn’t – she loved it. I saw the Universal walker online in an Amazon review and seized the chance to try and find a way we could run alongside one another again, it was our favourite thing. It worked. The walker was robust enough that, when on the straight, I could extend the handle and we could run and laugh as our circus flew past unsuspecting folk enjoying a peaceful walk in the park. I called it ‘shaking the bottle’, finding her fizz again.
