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Welcome to Leah's Page! 
Leah was born January 18, 1995 at home after a healthy, normal pregnancy and has been a healthy girl all of her life. Our lives were suddenly changed in August 2004 when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor.
Welcome to Leah's Web Page. It has been provided to keep everyone updated about Leah and our brain tumor journey.
It started when Leah had "episodes" which we are still not sure when they began. It was during her ballet rehearsal in June 2004 that a full episode was witnessed and when the word "seizure" came to mind. Right in the middle of a dance she knew very well she suddenly stopped and wandered on the stage and was then confused. Thankfully, it was only a rehearsal and the actual recital went on without any incidents. We went to the family practitioner who said she probably has absence seizures and it's not likely a brain tumor. After an EEG and MRI, it was confirmed that she fell into the 1% of kids with seizures that are caused by a brain tumor. After much research and several opinions and much prayer, we decided to go to Stanford in Palo Alto, CA for her surgery by Dr. Michael Edwards. She has a wonderful neuro-oncologist, Dr. Paul Fisher, there also. She had a brain mapping grid placement surgery on 10/18/04, then recovery and 2 days of brain mapping by neurologist Dr. Donald Olson. This was to assure the surgeon of a safe entry point so as to not affect executive functions such as speech. Then the resection surgery was done on 10/22/04. Dr. Edwards, the neurosurgeon was able to remove almost all of the tumor except for a small amount attached to the vein of Rosenthal. The pathology came back as a ganglioglioma WHO grade I, which is considered benign. Because it is not impossible for the tumor to grow back and since a small amount was left, she is monitored with MRIs every 3 months, then 6 months and now once a year and will be monitored for 10 years! She has had many MRIs since surgery and they have been stable, thank God! They do show the residual tumor, but no change. Leah continues to have some complex partial seizures and is on anti-seizure medication. We had hoped she would be off by 3 months post-surgery, but had a "breakthrough" seizure just before that time. Then they increased in frequency. We have made adjustments to her dosage, but are looking into alternatives to help eliminate the seizures. Leah does also have some learning problems due to the location of the tumor. She has always been homeschooled like her 3 older brothers, and we weren't too worried when she had trouble reading. We just thought she was a late bloomer, but it soon became evident she had some classic symptoms of dyslexia. Now that we know the cause, we are finding different ways to teach Leah, one of the many advantages of homeschooling! Life will never be "normal" again in the Sherman household and we think that's a blessing. An event like this really makes one rethink what's important in this very short life on earth. God has been faithful and for that we are truly thankful.
Journal
Wednesday, November 28, 2007 0:15 AM CST Hi Everyone,
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for. Leah has been doing well and that's why we haven't sent an update for a while. She has still been having breakthrough seizures and until recently they were coming 2 - 7 weeks apart. For some strange reason she's had 4 in the past 2 weeks. We are hoping and praying it's a passing phase and are keeping a close watch on her. She was only having them in the morning before getting out of bed, but yesterday's came midday. At her last visit to Stanford in July, Dr. Fisher said her seizure activity was controlled enough to keep going as we were and he did not need to see her for a year! Now here we are almost half way to MRI time and doctor's visits and the seizure monster rears it's ugly head again to keep us on our toes, or we should say knees! Leah has been improving in her homeschooling, we are still doing the neurodevelopmental therapy. It is amazing how much it has helped her. She continues to take dance classes and is now assistant teaching the pre-schooler's ballet classes on Mondays. She loves it, and she makes a little money, too!
Please be praying for Ryan, Leah's cousin with neuroblastoma, he's still in the battle in New York where they spent Thanksgiving in treatment. He is fighting a relapse and needs your prayers. Also, there is a fund raiser for research that is best explained at this website www.bandofparents.org Click on Cookies for Kids Cancer. They are selling gourmet cookies and a large portion goes directly to the research needed. Hurry, orders need to be placed soon!
God bless and hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Love,
Chris and Marie
Read Journal History
Hospital Information: Patient Room: at home Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford
Palo Alto, CA
Links: http://www.for-ryan.org Website for Leah's cousin Ryan who is currently fighting neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer He was diagnosed in January 2004 at 4 1/2 years at stage IV and has undergone many treatments. Please pray for him and his wonderful family!
http://www.bandofparents.org Grassroots organization of parents of neuroblastoma kids raising funds for research
http://abta.org American Brain Tumor Association, a website among many with lots of information on brain tumors and support.
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