Axlis
05-09-2008, 10:52 PM
We found out today that our son, Emerson Elijah, has a brain tumor about the size of a tennis ball. We won't know more until the biopsy after Monday, the wait is the worst part.
Please pray for us.
EDITED TO ADD UPDATE:
First off, I want to thank you all for the prayers and kind words, we really need them right now.
I want to let you know a little more about whats going on, since I was short with my first message.
Emerson is our first and only child, born at nine pounds. His head was kinda large at birth, and was monitored monthly, but he was otherwise very healthy. The real problems with Emerson can be traced back to December, when he started vomiting much more than we thought a baby should. It was around that time that he also developed a nystagmus in both eyes. We took him to two different doctors, and they both said his vomiting was acid reflux, and his nystagmus was weak eye muscles and that the jerking would pass with age.
Emerson began to develop a VERY ferocious appetite. It seems like he was always hungry. They told us just to cut him back, he would adjust. But he was never satisfied. Emerson is now eight months old and weighs thirty-seven pounds. It seems like Emerson never sleeps, he would sleep at the MOST for three hours at a time, and then was up every hour after that, screaming to eat. You could not satisfiy his hunger for long, and he threw up a lot. We talked to the doctors several times, and I feel like they just would not take us seriously, perhaps assuming we were just overly concerned first time parents. They had a reason for everything, and assured us it would all pass.
By his 6 month visit Emerson had developed amblyopia, which is what people commonly call a "lazy eye", and our pediatrician scheduled us see a pediatric ophthalmologist. We were already concerned about his nystagmus, and also worried he would inherit my high myopia (nearsightedness). It took nearly two months to get an eye appointment with this specialist. When we finally saw him, the eye doctor was immediately concerned with his upbeating nystagmus, and scheduled an MRI, which would be another 2 weeks. We also found out he is already -6.50 myopic in both eyes.
Fast forward to yesterday. Our worst nightmare became a reality when the doctor came in and told us that they found a mass on his brain. It is on his optic nerve, and his pressing against his pituitary gland as well. He most likely has no peripheral vision because of the tumor, and may be limiting his central vision as well. It is also more than likely the cause of his increased appetite, vomiting, and sleeping disturbances. The MRI looks very scary. The tumor is large, a little bit smaller than a tennis ball. It's position makes surgical removal an extreme last resort, because it is surrounded by healthly tissue.
Emerson is getting a biopsy done Monday, and the doctor told us their is a possibility of damage from that as well, considering they have to go through healthy brain tissue to get a sample. They will try to go through as little tissue as possible, but there is always the chance of some damage. We won't know anything more about the tumor until at the very earliest Tuesday, whether it is benign or malignant. We are hoping and praying it is benign, because a malignant one means a very, very poor prognosis.
Even if this is benign, it is still very serious considering his age and the sheer size of the tumor, and we are going to have a long road ahead of us with chemotherapy, and living with the constant worry that this will come back, or will not be treatable. I never thought I would ever have to see my baby have cancer, I have never felt this sad before in my life. It's really hard knowing that our baby isn't perfect. It just breaks my heart.
PLEASE KEEP PRAYING FOR US!!![
URL=http://imageshack.us]http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/9821/emersonsmilesvk8.jpg[/URL]
http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/9821/emersonsmilesvk8.9cb427b2e2.jpg (http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=378&i=emersonsmilesvk8.jpg)
http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/7076/emsidewaysta7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/7076/emsidewaysta7.b09f5b7e0e.jpg (http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=206&i=emsidewaysta7.jpg)
Please pray for us.
EDITED TO ADD UPDATE:
First off, I want to thank you all for the prayers and kind words, we really need them right now.
I want to let you know a little more about whats going on, since I was short with my first message.
Emerson is our first and only child, born at nine pounds. His head was kinda large at birth, and was monitored monthly, but he was otherwise very healthy. The real problems with Emerson can be traced back to December, when he started vomiting much more than we thought a baby should. It was around that time that he also developed a nystagmus in both eyes. We took him to two different doctors, and they both said his vomiting was acid reflux, and his nystagmus was weak eye muscles and that the jerking would pass with age.
Emerson began to develop a VERY ferocious appetite. It seems like he was always hungry. They told us just to cut him back, he would adjust. But he was never satisfied. Emerson is now eight months old and weighs thirty-seven pounds. It seems like Emerson never sleeps, he would sleep at the MOST for three hours at a time, and then was up every hour after that, screaming to eat. You could not satisfiy his hunger for long, and he threw up a lot. We talked to the doctors several times, and I feel like they just would not take us seriously, perhaps assuming we were just overly concerned first time parents. They had a reason for everything, and assured us it would all pass.
By his 6 month visit Emerson had developed amblyopia, which is what people commonly call a "lazy eye", and our pediatrician scheduled us see a pediatric ophthalmologist. We were already concerned about his nystagmus, and also worried he would inherit my high myopia (nearsightedness). It took nearly two months to get an eye appointment with this specialist. When we finally saw him, the eye doctor was immediately concerned with his upbeating nystagmus, and scheduled an MRI, which would be another 2 weeks. We also found out he is already -6.50 myopic in both eyes.
Fast forward to yesterday. Our worst nightmare became a reality when the doctor came in and told us that they found a mass on his brain. It is on his optic nerve, and his pressing against his pituitary gland as well. He most likely has no peripheral vision because of the tumor, and may be limiting his central vision as well. It is also more than likely the cause of his increased appetite, vomiting, and sleeping disturbances. The MRI looks very scary. The tumor is large, a little bit smaller than a tennis ball. It's position makes surgical removal an extreme last resort, because it is surrounded by healthly tissue.
Emerson is getting a biopsy done Monday, and the doctor told us their is a possibility of damage from that as well, considering they have to go through healthy brain tissue to get a sample. They will try to go through as little tissue as possible, but there is always the chance of some damage. We won't know anything more about the tumor until at the very earliest Tuesday, whether it is benign or malignant. We are hoping and praying it is benign, because a malignant one means a very, very poor prognosis.
Even if this is benign, it is still very serious considering his age and the sheer size of the tumor, and we are going to have a long road ahead of us with chemotherapy, and living with the constant worry that this will come back, or will not be treatable. I never thought I would ever have to see my baby have cancer, I have never felt this sad before in my life. It's really hard knowing that our baby isn't perfect. It just breaks my heart.
PLEASE KEEP PRAYING FOR US!!![
URL=http://imageshack.us]http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/9821/emersonsmilesvk8.jpg[/URL]
http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/9821/emersonsmilesvk8.9cb427b2e2.jpg (http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=378&i=emersonsmilesvk8.jpg)
http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/7076/emsidewaysta7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/7076/emsidewaysta7.b09f5b7e0e.jpg (http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=206&i=emsidewaysta7.jpg)