Former United States Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard opened up about the challenges she and her husband, Abraham Williams, faced after he was diagnosed with sacral chordoma, a rare type of bone cancer, earlier this year.
“He had been under heavy anesthesia for almost eight hours. His body, as he started to come out, started reacting to the drugs that were in his body. It was tough,” Gabbard said in a video posted on X on Thursday.
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Gabbard described the phone call from Williams telling her that he had been diagnosed with cancer, and how they discussed what their options were with their doctors.
“One is a very invasive surgery to remove the bottom part of Abraham’s sacrum and his tailbone, and the other option was radiation,” she said.
Gabbard and Williams decided to move forward with surgery.
Gabbard said her husband had to “push through the post-operative pain“ as a result of refusing to take “narcotic pain medication.” She added that just weeks after the surgery, pathologists and Williams’s doctor told them they were “confident” that they were able to remove “all of the cancerous bone and tissue.”
Three months later, Williams started a physical therapy program.
“Overall, Abraham is progressing very well. The reality is that the battle isn’t over yet,” Gabbard said. “He’ll have to continue to get frequent MRIs to keep an eye on whether or not this cancer is coming back either in the same place other parts of his body.”
Gabbard expressed her gratitude to God, the doctors, and those who have been praying for her and Williams.
TULSI GABBARD ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION AFTER HUSBAND’S BONE CANCER DIAGNOSIS
“We are so grateful to God for His unconditional love, for being our shelter, for being our peace, and our strength. We want to say thank you to the doctors, the surgeon, the pathologists, the anesthesiologists. We want to say thank you to all of you, sharing the most beautiful prayers and well wishes with us. Mahalo nui loa to you all.”
Gabbard resigned from serving as DNI after her husband received the cancer diagnosis in May.
