#PrayersForEllie
http://www.prayersforellie.com/
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On December 21st, 2012 we welcomed our second beautiful daughter into this world. For the first three months, everything seemed fine, and our biggest issue was deciding what brand of diapers to buy. At four months old, we started to notice that her soft spot looked different, and was actually bulging from her head.
After talking to two different doctors, both who said they thought this was normal, we finally found a doctor who thought she deserved a second look. May 7th, 2013 was the day our life changed, after taking her to the family physician, he insisted that we take her to the emergency room for a CT scan. The hospital thought that she just had fluid on the brain, also known as, hydrocephalus. After a ultrasound, cat scan, and MRI; Ellie was diagnosed with a brain tumor that was 1/3rd the size of her brain. I can't describe the feelings you feel when you hear the words "your child has a tumor" its a rollercoaster of emotions, and all I remember is crying, and asking god "why?"
We were seated in a tiny room, as the neurosurgeon told us that our four month old daughter would need brain surgery right away, and that her chances of survival were slim. We were asked if we wanted to sign a DNR, and then we were told that if she did make it she would possibly have brain damage, and wouldn't be the "normal" little girl we knew. May 8th, 2013 Ellie underwent her first brain surgery to remove the tumor, this surgery took nine hours; I have never thrown up so much in my life.
On May 9th, 2013 our daughter was alive! May 12th, 2013 we found out that her ventricles weren't working, and that is when she was diagnosed with Hydrocephalus. She underwent her second brain surgery that day, to place a VP shunt. Later that week, we got her tumor biopsy back which told us her tumor was Desmoplastic infantile ganglioglioma/astrocytoma; there have only ever been 60 known cases, and very little information on it, and because of that our doctors weren't sure how to treat it.
We waited three months, and scanned her again; those scans showed tumor growth large enough to need another brain surgery and at eight months old our little girl unelliederwent her third 7 hour brain surgery. By now we knew what to expect and we knew that she would be just fine, especially since we decided to take her to a new hospital, one that had more experience in childhood tumors.
By now Ellie has surpassed every statistic, she has rolled over and started crawling; proving every doctor wrong! She is a miracle, by the grace of god, she is a walking and talking miracle. Three weeks after Ellie's third brain surgery scans again showed tumor growth, this is when we decided to start our little eight month old baby, on chemotherapy.
By now we have already been through hell and back, but I would walk through hell a million times for my girls. Chemotherapy has been a rough road, Ellie has developed neuropathy as a side effect of one of her chemo drugs, and she is in constant pain.
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