Alaina’s Story

Alaina Wetzel is one of our Glio Leo warriors staying strong in her fight against Grade 4 Glioblastoma, and has been a recipient of Glio Leo donations to help with her treatment. Alaina and, Glio Leo Founder, Shelby met through Jackie Miranda - Alaina's cousin and Shelby's college friend - following Alaina's diagnosis. Here is Alaina's story in her own words.

My name is Alaina Wetzel. I live in New Jersey with my husband, Chris, and our cavapoo, Remy, who has become a sort of a support dog for me.The majority of my extended family lives within a 5-mile radius of my parents' home and is only 15 minutes from me! I have a lot of family and friends that have been with me throughout all of this and continue to do so now, especially my husband Chris. Chris has been nothing short of incredible to me. I know it's not always easy for him, but he is my rock through all of this.

My fight against GBM started in March 2020 as the world was shutting down due to the Covid-19 global pandemic, and only 2 weeks after Chris and I got engaged. I had gone to my primary care doctor after my friend, a nurse practitioner, noticed a very slight droop in my smile. My doctor recommended I go to the ER for further evaluation. From there, I was told that I had had a stroke. Further testing ruled it out and doctors believed it was MS; my dad has MS. After 4 months of steroids and inconclusive scans, I had a brain biopsy on July 2nd, 2020. Due to Covid-19, only Chris was allowed with me in the hospital and then he had to leave once I went into surgery, so I woke up from surgery without my husband or family. I was officially diagnosed with Grade 4 Glioblastoma on July 9th, 2020.

I started radiation and chemotherapy at the end of July 2020. The chemo wasn't helping, so we switched to Avastin and a different chemotherapy called Lomustine. I had to take several breaks during this chemo due to low platelets. I eventually completed the cycle, which I am told isn't done often as the drug is very powerful. I continued Avastin through April 2022.

To date, I am feeling good minus the anxiety and stress leading up to each MRI scan. My scans have been stable although we don't have any indication of why, but I am very grateful for it. I believe God and my family that have passed are watching over me.

Shelby played a major role in this journey, especially during the early days of my diagnosis and treatment. We texted and FaceTimed a lot. I would text her a lot with questions, especially about what to expect. She would always answer honestly, which I appreciated, and sometimes the texts were just to say 'hello'. Shelby meant a lot to me and I think of her often. 

My connection to Glio Leo is because of Shelby and being a part of this community means a lot to me. I would like the community to continue to honor those who are battling and those we have lost. We can have hope that a cure is right around the corner with organizations like Glio Leo.