Callan is a ray of light! He is 3 yrs old and loves his big brother and Super Mario. Life’s smallest things make him so happy. We go for walks, throw rocks in the river, play at the park, and ride bikes.  He is happiest with Mom, Dad, and his brabbo (brother).
Callan was diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) on April 9th 2023. Before he was diagnosed, he was experiencing problems with his balance and had facial paralysis.
Callan does not currently have any limitations but will be starting radiation soon. His cancer diagnosis has forever changed our lives.
Eric loves the San Diego Padres. He also loves playing baseball too. Eric likes to listen to music and watch YouTube. He loves being outside! He enjoys wresting with his 3 year old brother, Vinny. And they both love playing with our dog, Bruno.
Eric was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma at the ER on 5/19/22 – a brain tumor was discovered and it was fully removed the next day. The cancer had also spread to the spine and other parts of the brain.
Eric had three cycles of induction chemotherapy and three cycles of high dose chemo with stem cell rescue. Eric’s longest run in the hosptial was 99 days straight. His treatment was at Rady Children’s Hospital and was on and off of being impatient for 7 months. Moving forward, we will monitor his MRI’s and we hope to avoid radiation. Treatment has resulted in some weakness for Eric. He can walk but is still working on his strength so he uses a wheelchair for long distances.
Our lives are now completely different than before; with many doctors appointments, hearing aids, physical therapy, medications and injections. Eric’s immune system is weak. I lost my job to take care of Eric full time. We can’t wait for the days that we can be care free and not worried about Eric’s health.
Juliette loves stuffed animals; they seemed to comfort her when getting evaluated. She’s always loved playing with her sister and running around everywhere.
Juliette was admitted on October 31st, 2022 with what we were told was a tumor on the back of her brain (Posterior Fossa Tumor). Leading up to the diagnosis she had been drowsy, not eating or drinking, and couldn’t walk properly. Everyone thought it was a virus because she had thrown up a few times as well, but the walking part did not make sense, so a CT scan was ordered, revealing the mass.
Juliette will begin radiation in a few weeks and will begin chemotherapy a month after the radiation is finished.
Cancer has changed our lives in many ways, particularly for our other daughter, Juliette’s twin Adela. It seems odd to have identical twins when one is fighting cancer. It is important to us to document this time when our lives were altered so much but also to highlight our family’s joy and faith through the struggle.
Kai is the sweetest soul. He genuinely loves helping others and we often joke that he is a professional big brother. He’s the second oldest of our 4 children. When we are near other children he goes out of his way to assist the younger kids and makes everyone feel welcome and loved. He loves dressing in costumes and wore different character pajamas to his chemotherapy appointments. He also loves all things Disney, Lego, and spending time at the beach/in the ocean. After taking a break during chemotherapy he is happily back to his jiu-jitsu training and is working towards his grey/white belt.
Kai was diagnosed with a brain tumor – Thalamic Glioma – when he was 2 years old. He had a CT scan after falling and hitting his head, and that’s when the tumor was discovered.
Kai has completed a year of chemotherapy. He endured pokes, surgeries, infusions, and MRIs. His father drove him weekly to his infusions and appointments, over 2 hours each way. A few months into his chemotherapy protocol I (his mother) was also diagnosed with cancer. A large tumor was discovered near my heart. Primary mediastinal large B cell lymphoma was my official diagnosis. Having 2 family members going through chemotherapy, mid-pandemic, was difficult, to say the least. We both completed our treatments in the fall of 2021 and I’m thrilled to report Kai’s tumor is stable and I am currently in remission.
Kai is steadily regaining his strength and endurance. His brain tumor is centrally located in his brain and is considered inoperable. He will be carefully monitored by MRI every 3 months. Medical trauma and anxiety is likely something he will always have to live with.
Kai’s diagnosis was so early on in his life that it’s become something we have almost always had to live with. It’s been difficult but also given us all a perspective of gratefulness. We know tomorrow is not promised and are grateful for every day God grants us to be together.
We are just so proud of Kai. He hasn’t let his struggles define him. He instead shows incredible kindness and love to all.
Mackenzie loves science (astronomy) and lacrosse. She is shy but funny. She adores her chocolate lab Loki who is one year old. She is outdoorsy and a Cub Scout. She is a big Harry Potter fan and loves school too.
Mackenzie was diagnosed with a brainstem Glioma in July 2022. Prior to her diagnosis, she was experiencing strong headaches. Her treatment has included radiation and two surgeries, one for a biopsy and one for VP shunt placement.
Doctors still are amazed that she was only having headaches. She was doing Lacrosse tryouts and shooting sports the week before she was diagnosed. She is ready to start training again. She rocks each radiation session. Mackenzie and her mom wear Harry Potter robes to put some magic into her treatment. Her radiation mask has Luna Lovegood’s face. We love her medical team. She has not stopped going to scout meetings and the day she was discharged from the second surgery she wanted to go to her den meeting and wear her new uniform.
Joseph and his brother enjoy a good fart joke (LOL). They also love going kayaking and playing video games.
Joey was diagnosed in 2019 with “CNS Embryonal Tumor – NOS” on the left side of his brain. Before his diagnosis, he was going cross-eyed and seeing double so we took him to the ER and a CT scan showed that he had a brain tumor. He went through 33 rounds of radiation and 6 months of inpatient treatments before finally having NED (No Evidence of Disease). He was NED for about 4 months and then showed a faint amount of growth on the opposite side of his brain. Back in 2019, St Jude’s did a pathology report on his original tumor and they found characteristics of Glioblastoma cells so we were going to assume this and treat the new growth as Glioblastoma, however, Methylation testing was requested on a piece of the original tumor and his diagnosis has been updated to “CNS Neuroblastoma, FOXR2-activated”.
This is when things changed completely. We had no better option than waiting for the next MRI and seeing if his tumor grew enough to biopsy, and it did. We have a biopsy scheduled for November 8th; all of the necessary tests to get the most accurate results will be redone so we can determine the correct treatments. This is where we are in his journey at the moment.
Cancer has changed our lives, 100 percent. We moved to be closer to the hospital and are paying triple the amount in bills. We have a younger son as well and he is also affected.
