Jaz age 14

Jasmine was 11 when she was diagnosed with osteoseracoma, bone cancer. She was playing soccer and was kicked in the knee. She began limping and we thought she had a pulled muscle. We had her looked at and they said they thought it was a sports related injury. Stay off of it for a week, use heat and ice baths. We did that for about two weeks, and she continued to limp. Her soccer coach said that he wanted to have her to have a full physical. We took her in and they did a set of x-rays. They showed a lot of calcification on her femur bone, he told us that he suspected a tumor was there. An MRI was done. Three very long days later our worst nightmare was confirmed. August 31, 2006 She had a tumor in her left femur. She actually had three. They told us to go down to MD Anderson immediately. We drove down to Houston, and she had a biopsy done the next day and they told us that it was osteoseracoma. She did 5 months of chemotherapy. In January of 2007 she had a metal prothetic limb. They removed her femur bone and put in a metal rod. She did 3 more months of chemotherapy. She had two lung thoracotomies. Right and left lung. She hasn't done any chemo for a year now. She has remained stable but they continue to monitor suspicious spots in her lungs and one in the aorta of her heart. That has remained there for 2 years now, and not doing anything. We pray that it stays that way. She recently fell, and hurt her hip really badly. She decided that she wanted to amputate her left leg. The limb salvage was great because it meant that she could keep her leg, but she wasn't able to do anything. No running, no jumping, no kicking of a ball, she couldn't sit for a long period of time without becoming sore. She felt that in her heart this was a right decision for her. She will be able to do all of the things she once was able to do. That is where we are at this point in time. Surviving and living life to the fullest. Jasmine is now 14 and she has grown so much. She is an inspiration to me, her mother, every day. She has had to make some really hard decisions for a 14 year old and has faced them with a lot of faith and motivation. She is the strongest person I know. www.caringbridge.org/visit/jasminesubia  

  Cali age 3

On June 25, 2007, almost 2 weeks after Cali's first birthday, we were told the devastating news that Cali had a classic medulloblastoma between the brain stem and the cerebellum. After a very successful resection, 7 months of chemotherapy, a high dose of chemo, and a bone marrow transplant in Feb. 2008, Cali had put the cancer in remission. After almost a year and a half of clean scans, on Jan. 8, 2009, we were told that the deadly beast had returned but now in the right hemisphere of the brain. This resection did not come back as promising. Some of the tumor had to be left because it is in the brain stem and it is now an Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumor (ATRT). Cali started her first round of chemo on Feb. 16th and was going to have 52 weeks of it. Then on April 1st, only after 2 rounds of chemo, the tumor had returned and just as big. This tumor, showing it's resistance to chemotherapy, was very bloody and swollen. Unable to do surgery at this point, on April 20th, Cali started radiation, something we never wanted it to get to, and had 6 weeks of it. Her first scan, in July, after the radiation was completed came back clean. So, to date, Cali is considered in remission again since July and she has another MRI on September 29th. She has never stopped fighting for her life and will fight till the end. Please pray for our little Cali wali and the rest of our family. With our faith and God's grace we will get through whatever is put before us. If you would like to read about Cali, please visit her sight at www.caringbridge.org/visit/cali  

Brianna's Story

Brianna was diagnosed with a brain tumor prior to her birth. While a routine ultrasound showed that her twin sister, Alexis, was developing fine - Brianna's head was way too large. A follow-up MRI, done two months before the twins were born, confirmed the tumor. Brianna had surgery to implant a VP shunt to control the hydrocephalous when she was three days old. The doctors made the decision to "watch and wait" regarding the tumor. They felt Brianna was too small to survive tumor removal brain surgery at that time.

When Brianna was five months old, an MRI revealed that the tumor was growing and it had to come out. She had the tumor resection surgery on her six-month birthday. The pathology determined the tumor to be a high-grade (aggressive) mixed glioneuronal - an extremely rare tumor. Brianna is the youngest ever diagnosed with such a tumor. She began 70 weeks of chemotherapy when she was seven months old.

Chemo was very, very difficult. During the next 16 months, Brianna spent a total of 72 days in the hospital due to complications. One such complication was that after just two months of chemo, Brianna developed mouth sores and refused to take her bottle (or anything else for that matter). After a temporary trial period with an ND tube for feeding, Brianna had surgery, again, to get a permanent g-tube placed. She is still 100% g-tube fed today.

In March 2009, Brianna completed chemotherapy treatment. All MRI's since then have been clear. She is officially a two-year cancer survivor!!! However...

Brianna has many other medical issues that she still lives with and that will always be part of her life. She was diagnosed with cerebral palsy before her first birthday. At almost three-years old now, she still cannot sit unassisted, has very little head control, can't scoot, crawl, or walk, and doesn't talk (though she's very vocal). She is also legally blind. She can distinguish between bright and muted colors and responds to light and shadows, but she is unable to track objects or see well enough to reach for things.

Additionally, Brianna has a seizure disorder and has suffered a number of large clonic-tonic seizures that have lasted longer than half an hour in duration. Two such seizures have resulted in hospitalization and collapsed lungs. She hasn't had a large seizure in a couple of months, but still has periodic small focal seizures. Thankfully, there has been a decrease in the frequency of these seizures as well in the past two months.

It is possible that the reason for the decrease in seizures has something to do with Brianna's tracheotomy that she got on January 4, 2010. Brianna has always had some difficulty breathing from time to time, but in December it had gotten much worse. A few days after Christmas, she was hospitalized in respiratory distress. A scope revealed that her airway was collapsing and that she also had a condition called broncheomalacia. She spent 25 days in the hospital. Fortunately, the trach has opened her airway and she breathes great now. She is attached to humidified air and oxygen at night, but does fine on room air during the day.

Brianna receives physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and vision therapy every week. She has a stander, a wheelchair, and quite a bit of therapy equipment. Her grandparents (whom she lives with) are in the process of getting her a Sleep Safe bed (just waiting for insurance approval). They would love to get her a Kid Walk gait trainer, as she has been "walking" on a treadmill (harnessed and with a lot of assistance) at physical therapy. The Kid Walk would give her more "walking" practice at home. But, nothing happens quickly.

Still, that's okay. Brianna has taught all those around her the true meaning of patience. And, she is love and joy personified. She has a smile that can light up a room and she is the greatest snuggler in the world. She is also the bravest person I've ever met and a hero in every sense of the word.

Julie - Brianna's Grandma
www.caringbridge.org/visit/briannamoore