Tulsi Gabbard shared a personal update about her husband Abraham’s recovery after he was diagnosed with a rare sacral chordoma and underwent a major operation; she described the choices they faced, the long surgery, the difficult immediate recovery and the ongoing monitoring and rehabilitation he now needs.
Tulsi Gabbard stepped away from her public role in May to focus on Abraham after his diagnosis with a rare bone cancer called sacral chordoma. She left to support him through treatment and recovery, and recently posted an update that walks through the decision-making and what followed. The news has drawn wide attention because the cancer is so uncommon and the surgery was extensive.
“Earlier this year, my husband Abraham was diagnosed with cancer,” Gabbard said, explaining that Abraham was diagnosed with a very rare type of cancer called sacral chordoma, a “one in a million type of cancer.” She made the choice to prioritize his care and the family’s needs while they navigated treatment options.
“We talked with our doctors and said, ‘Okay, what are our options?’ 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 continued. “So we scheduled the surgery as quickly as we could.” The team moved fast because the window for the best surgical outcome was narrow, and they wanted to remove the tumor before it could spread.
https://x.com/TulsiGabbard/status/2090424874971877649
The update includes footage showing Abraham in the pre-op room and the team preparing for the operation. That procedure ended up taking almost eight hours and required a highly skilled surgical team to remove the affected bone and tissue. The length and complexity of the operation left the family understandably anxious while the surgeons worked.
“I was so happy to see him when they wheeled him back into that recovery room, but it was also really scary, which I didn’t expect,” Gabbard said. “He’d 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.” She described the mix of relief and fear that comes after a long, successful surgery.
“So that night, more than a few times, Abraham said, ‘I want to get up.’ He had some help from some great nurses to just start very, very slowly walking around. He would take a few steps, he would throw up as he was trying to walk around, but he kept going. He refused to take any narcotic pain medication,” Gabbard said. “And so he really had to push through the post-operative pain. A few weeks after the surgery was done, pathologists and the doctor said that they are confident that they were able to cut out all of the cancerous bone and tissue.” The confirmation from pathology was a critical milestone in their recovery timeline.
“So here we are now, almost three months after, and he started a very rigorous physical therapy program,” she said. “He gets frustrated a lot because he wants to be able to make progress faster, and sometimes he’s pushed a little bit too far, but overall Abraham is progressing very well.” Rehabilitation has become the daily focus, and the work is slow and steady with measurable gains.
Even with successful surgery and initial progress, the road ahead includes ongoing surveillance and scans to make sure the cancer does not return. “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 or in other parts of his body,” Gabbard noted, underscoring that vigilance is now part of their routine.
“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 pathologist, 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 said. She expressed deep gratitude to medical staff, friends and supporters who offered help and prayers during the most difficult days.
The update closes with a tender moment as the couple embraces, a visible sign of relief mixed with the work still to come. The video ended with a tearful Gabbard being hugged by Abraham.
Countless people continued offering prayers and well-wishes for Tulsi and Abraham. Those messages have been a steady source of encouragement as they move into long-term recovery and monitoring.
Friends, family and community members have responded with support, and the couple has thanked everyone for their kindness. The immediate crisis has passed, but the follow-up care and scans will remain a regular part of their lives for some time.
