Nathan

Nathan was 32 months old when he was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a malignant brain tumor, on June 25, 2003. The tumor was completely removed on June 26 and the cancer had not spread to the spine. Nathan had 5 rounds of chemotherapy at Children's Hospital in Omaha and a stem cell transplant at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. On May 25, 2004 an MRI showed that the cancer was back. We turned to Dr. Foreman, a neuro-oncologist at Children's Hospital in Denver. After the cancer responded poorly to more chemo, we tried radiation not knowing what to expect and here we are 11 years later. The medulloblastoma is gone but an MRI on October 23, 2014 showed a new mass growing on the brain stem, a radiation induced glioblastoma. There was nothing that could be done and we were devastated. Nathan was actually on hospice for 3 months. In May 2015 he did another MRI and the mass was gone! It was not what the experts thought it was and there's really no explanation for it. Amazing! He's now back to being a normal kid and embarking on a new adventure -- high school. He has an older brother Drew (17) and a younger sister Sarah (13). We greatly appreciate all the support we have been given and continue praying for strength as Nathan faces the day to day challenges of life.

Journal

Thursday, October 15, 2015 9:39 AM CDT

Today is Nathan's 15th Birthday! Hallelujah! It's been quite a year and we are ecstatic to be celebrating with him.

We were in Denver last week for a follow-up MRI, 1 year from the fatal diagnosis of glioblastoma and 5 months from the good MRI that showed that it wasn't. Good news again on his MRI and still no explanation for what happened last year. We just have to appreciate that there are still uncertainties in this world, thank goodness! Unfortunately we didn't get to see Dr. Foreman because he was out of town for a conference. I can imagine the smirk on his face though when he saw Nathan's latest image. We really enjoy and appreciate him! We'll go back in 6 months for another MRI just to make certain everything is still ok.

Nathan will continue to stay off of the growth hormone and may eventually go back on a smaller "adult" dose. He's pretty much done growing. He did get a prescription for glasses this time as he has a stigmatism in both eyes. Should be about week and then we'll find out what he thinks of glasses. Nathan also has developed cataracts in his left eye -- radiation is the gift that just keeps on giving...

We went to school early today so he could put a chocolate chip cookie in every freshman locker for his birthday and hand some out to his teachers. I'm also picking him up for lunch at Runza and then he gets out a little early because he wanted to go watch cross country districts.

Happy Birthday to Nathan! Every day is a blessing!

Jen

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E-mail Author: rjhultquist@gtmc.net

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