Karissa your eyes sparkle like precious glittering gold The beautiful smile upon your face could melt anyone's heart and soul
You are a very caring little girl so full of love for all you know And baby animals are special, you love to hug and not let go
We have made this website for you with all the things you like the best There are soft pastels and animals and of course Kobee your cat
We know your friends will feel at home when they visit you on your page Because it reflects all of you Karissa and with love for you it was made
Have mommy read all of your messages in your guestbook, that's where they are They are from all the people who love you and think that you Karissa, are a star
On June 16, 2004 I had a headache and a fever of 103. We went to see Dr. Jack Walters my new doctor and he ordered a CT scan to see if I had a bump in my head. Sure enough I did and it was a whopper. He sent me to Children's Hospital in Birmingham Alabama. I was referred to Dr. Wellons. He lets us call him Dr. Jay. On June 18th he cut my head up the back almost in half to take out the bump. It was almost 9 hours before my parents saw me again. He had to leave a little bit in because it may have caused some brain damage if he went digging for it. 10 days later we were told it was a Malignant Medulloblastoma. My head felt better but I could not walk, talk, sit or feed myself. We were told it would slowly come back and with physical and occupational therapy it is.
I was then referred to Dr. Reddy a Pediatric Oncologist.
We all talked and decided my treatment will consist of 30 radiations to the spine and brain with a weekly shot of Chemotherapy. Dr. Fiveash at UAB Hospital is in charge of my radiation. After 4 weeks rest I'll begin Chemotherapy with 3 weeks on and 3 weeks off for the next 13 months. I will try to keep everyone posted on how things are going.
My mom and dad are real busy because I have 5 brothers and sisters so they probably won't up date every day. Thank you for visiting my web sight and for your prayers.
Hi everyone, Thanks for visiting. It's been 5 years since this all started. I have been off treatment for almost 4 years. One more year and I will be considered cured. Praise God. I am doing great. I just came home from camp so I'm a little sad. I only have 4 more weeks of horse back riding before the summer break. Again sadness. I miss going to school. I love it. The growth hormone shots are working and I'm eating very good. I have even gained some weight. I weighed 43 pounds forever and now I'm 49. I think food just tastes better now because I'm eating strange things like cauliflower and grilled salmon. I even ate the chopped up zucchini in the spagetti sauce. Mommy sneaks stuff like that in so we don't know we are eating it. AJ caught on and picked it out. Oh well his loss. We get to go to Michigan for the Fourth of July. We haven't been in several years. Only one time when I didn't have any hair. It was summer and I almost froze to death. Now that my doctor appointments are only once a year we feel it's safe to travel again. When we get home I have an appointment with hearing and speech to get new ear molds for my hearing aids. The ones I have now don't fit right so they have lots of feedback. We found 2 momma cat and each have 4 babies. They are just days old and are so cute. Their momma's are wild cats that just come over for dinner with our cat. When we want to play with them the momma cats run away. Their owner moved and left them so they had to find food. Please remember to sign my guestbook and give me a hug. Thank you for visiting. I'm sorry that we can't get the photos to come up. Hugs and prayers Love Karissa
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