Words cannot adequately describe the journey and pain a father has felt for his son, Mark Sullivan, who is trying to raise funds to battle a highly aggressive brain tumour. With time not on their side, Dennis has penned his thoughts in an emotional plea for support. His words speak for themselves – they come from the heart.
My Dearest Mark,
You are my hero. In fact you are the whole family’s hero. Your courage and optimism has been both inspirational, and thankfully catching.
It was just under a year after losing your older brother, Sean, in tragic circumstances that you were diagnosed with an aggressive and malignant brain tumour. It was beyond understanding. When I look back over these last 12 months I can see there were indicators that something was amiss with your health, but never would I have imagined a brain tumour. Thankfully, your wife Estelle was way ahead of the GPs’ or you wouldn’t be here today. Her own research around your symptoms was pointing to a brain tumour. At her instigation another GP was consulted and agreed that an MRI scan was a priority.
Because the MRI results showed the presence of a large tumour in the centre of your brain you were then returned to hospital as a matter of urgency. I’ll never forget that day as long as I live – I rushed to the hospital where you were slumped over in a chair in admissions – I thought my heart would break – I have never known such fear, but also such profound love for you. Your surgeon told us that time was of the essence – he said you wouldn’t survive another 12 hours without immediate surgery.
How you withstood the next two days of back-to-back major operations is beyond me. You never complained, not once! If the situation had been reversed I would have been a complete mess. The skill and attention you received from the medical team was extraordinary.
