It all began with a gut feeling..
He was tired.
He had a few headaches.
It sounds like a typical growing teenager, right? But there was just something wrong. His Dad, Jeff and I had a strange and unsettling feeling.
So due to a headache that just wouldn’t stop, he cut a camping trip short (which was unheard of for this boy who thrived in nature). And on June 24th, 2020, for the sake of getting peace of mind, Jeff and I decided to schedule an MRI. Little did we know that that MRI that would forever change our lives.
Within 2 hours he was being admitted to Children’s Hospital in Denver and we were being told that he had a ‘significant sized mass in the right side of his brain’. This news was like an earthquake that shook our family and friends near and far. It just didn’t make sense! Brody was athletic, adventurous and as healthy as can be. It was shocking!
Two days after that MRI, he underwent brain surgery. A biopsy of the tumor and placement of a vp shunt that would help drain the cerebral fluid that the tumor was blocking. the pressure from the blockage is what caused his headaches and nausea. The shunt was a tube (the size of a spaghetti noodle) that ran from the right thalamus down behind his right ear, over his collarbone and down into his stomach.
Then we had to endure the wait for 6 days before learning what it was. Jeff and I were ushered into a room with sterile couches and a desk with a chair on the Cancer and Blood Disorder Floor. Brody was taken out of the room and escorted down the hall to have ‘fun’ while he waited for us.
A team of professionals entered the room. Following the pediatric oncologist was the P.A., a social worker and a child life therapist. This gave me a sinking feeling.
All of us had masks on due to it being the height of Covid-19. And our masks gave this moment an even more ominous and suffocating feeling.
We were told that the tumor was called a diffused midline glioma h3k27m. That it’s considered the worst of the worst and with treatments, he had 6-9 months. I asked what kind of treatments? This tumor doesn’t respond to chemotherapy, so 6.5 weeks of radiation was recommended. I asked what the side affects would be and they told me “headaches, nausea and vomiting.” I flew out of my seat reminding them that he’d just undergone brain surgery to alleviate those symptoms and “now you’re going to induce them? No way!”
The oncologist quietly responded, “Without those treatments, your son will die in 3 months”.
We were gutted.
WE DON’T WANT YOUR FAMILY OR ANYONE ELSE TO GO THROUGH THIS. PLEASE HELP US FIND A CURE!!