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THIS WEBSITE HAS BEEN CREATED TO
HELP KEEP FAMILY FRIENDS AND VISITORS
INFORMED AND UPDATED ON CHASE'S PROGRESS
The following is my son Chase William Carlucci’s story. I wrote this story originally for
The Faces of Brain Tumors ,
a collection of photographs and stories by and about brain tumor patients, survivors, families, and loved ones that was produced by the North American Brain Tumor Coalition for distribution to members of Congress during Brain Tumor Action Week held annually. It gives a face to the disease we are fighting to find an answer and a cure to. Although Chase’s tumor was removed in 2002, everyday for Chase is a new start, he receives physical, occupational & speech therapy. If our family could give something back by sharing Chase’s story, then we are doing our part. May God Bless you and we thank you for all of your prayers. If you are a parent, or just someone who would like to talk, please feel free to
On Saturday, August 10, 2002, my family was celebrating my daughter’s 11th birthday in our backyard. After singing Happy Birthday, my 21-month old son Chase attacked my daughters birthday ice-cream cake. Needless to say, he needed a bath and quick! My mother-in-law took Chase in for a bath. Afterward, she told me that Chase was very wobbly. I told her that he was probably tired and being that we had a new patio, his balance was probably off. She asked me if I could please bring him to see a specialist, she just had a bad feeling. Although I had just brought Chase in for a checkup and shots on July 26, 2002. I agreed, there was something about my mother-in-law’s eyes and the feeling that I got when she said this. I scheduled an appointment for August 16, 2002, with his pediatrician. On the morning of August 16, 2002, Chase started whining and crawling (it appeared as though he could not walk). I immediately grew concerned and called my husband on his cell phone. Our appointment was for 3 p.m.; I wanted to get to the pediatrician sooner. When our pediatrician saw Chase she said this was not normal, my husband immediately requested a CAT scan. But it was Friday; no one would do a CAT scan now. We brought Chase to the Englewood Hospital Emergency Room where they gave him a CAT scan. A few hours had passed and no word on the results of the CAT scan. My husband and I grew nervous. While waiting for the results, I walked Chase around in his carriage when I noticed our pediatrician walking into Chase’s room (around 10 p.m.) . I knew something was wrong because she was not on call that evening. I walked Chase back into his room where I saw 3 doctors, 2 nurses, an ambulance crew and my husband seemed upset. They said that they found a mass about 3 ½ c.m. in size. Another doctor (Dr. Percy from HUMC Pediatric Oncology) immediately said that they wanted to transfer Chase to Hackensack University Medical Center where they have a great Pediatric Neurology and Oncology unit. My husband and I were in such shock that we just nodded and agreed with whatever our pediatrician thought best. We were immediately put in an ambulance with Dr. Percy, the head nurse of HUMC PICU and transferred to Hackensack hospital. The next day we were introduced to the Pediatric Oncologist and Neurologist doctors. They were to monitor and operate on Chase. They did an MRI on Chase which revealed that he had a posterior Fossa Tumor (choroid plexus Papilloma) that was 4 ½ c.m. in size. It was located between his cerebellum and brain stem, and had developed while in the womb. The guilt took over, how as parents could we not notice? All of this time, I just thought that my son was colicky. The doctors put Chase on a steroid called Decadron and some other IV medications to reduce any swelling in his brain. Chase went for surgery on Tuesday, August 20, 2002. We were very nervous because the night before, Chase had a lot of difficulty breathing. The doctors told us that the surgery was to take 4-6 hours but only took 2 ½ hours. Chase did very well and the tumor was benign! We now had to deal with hydrocephalus (his ventricles filling with fluid), we thought the worse was behind us. However, Chase had a seizure and although he did not need a shunt he had some ventricle problems and a slight infection that kept us in the hospital about and extra 3 weeks. I remember being more upset after the surgery (I guess living at the hospital started to take a toll on my husband and I). Chase was so little (he had lost about 10 pounds) he looked as though he was an infant again. He was so fragile, and could only look to one side. It almost got the best of my husband and I. One morning a volunteer came in with her dog and he jumped up on Chase’s bed. Chase tried to sit and smirked a little at the dog. God Bless this dog because I finally saw life in my son again. Little by little he would start to eat, make eye contact and LAUGH! My nephew Johnny came in one day and let Chase hit his baseball cap, Chase thought that was the funniest thing and laughed so loud. He kept that game on for about 10 minutes which for him at the time seemed like forever and for us a gift to see our son laughing. The hospital offered music therapy which I must say, every hospital should offer this. Chase reacted wonderfully to it. The time came to go home (my husband and I were a nervous wreck) the hospital connected us with a visiting nurse, speech therapist and physical therapist. Chase recovered wonderfully! Chase still suffers every now and again from the hydrocephalus, but we’ll take it! Although we have to take him every 6 months for an MRI to make sure this tumor isn’t coming back, we are very lucky! Our son is 8 years old now, and acting as such! He attends Second Grade and receives speech & occupational therapy, climbs the jungle gym, teases his siblings, chases our dog, and throws very normal 8 year old tantrums! Thank you to our family & friends, pediatrician, Dr. Amina Elkassir, our Neurologist/Oncologist, Dr. Stephen Thompson, our Neurologist’s, Dr. Arno Fried and Dr. Catherine Mazzolla. The HUMC PICU nurses. But most of all my mother-in-law, because without her intuition, we would not be enjoying our little Angel now.
BRAIN TUMOR ACTION WEEK
May 3 to May 9, 2009
The"Faces of Brain Tumors" book
will help legislators understand
the devastating effect of brain tumors on the lives of those who suffer them, and on their families and friends. If your child has (or has had) a brain tumor you can be a part of this memorable book by contributing your story.
Your story can be about yourself,
a loved one, a friend surviving
a brain tumor, or someone else
you know who has suffered from a brain tumor.
The book will be distributed on Capitol Hill
during Brain Tumor Action Week,
May 3 to May 9, 2008.
Please take a look at this book
reproduced EVERY year
(you can download it for free)
on this website:
DOWNLOAD HERE
There are stories from the
past and new stories as well.
Chase & Miss. Karen - speech therapy
*HUGS* TOTAL!
give CHASE more *HUGS*
Get hugs of your own
Happy 6th Birthday Chase 11-2006
Chase LOVES his Daddy
Mikey, Vanessa (Chase's older brother and sister) Lil Mermaid Mommy and Chase From Make-A-Wish Trip
Mommy LOVES Chase
ANGEL JANE
CLICK HERE
CaringBridge has notified us that we are
unable to link to other children
so I do apologize for Chase’s friend’s
links no longer being on this page.
However, a lot of Chase’s friends
do sign his guestbook, if you
would like to hear from them.
CLICK HERE
Facts about Brain Tumors
Each year, more than 190,000 people in the United States and 10,000 people in Canada will be diagnosed with a brain tumor. Of these, over 40,000 new cases of primary brain tumor are expected to be diagnosed in the United States in 2005 (1).
In addition, over 150,000 metastatic brain tumors are expected to be diagnosed (2). Brain tumors are the leading cause of solid tumor cancer death in children under the age of 20, now surpassing acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and are the third leading cause of cancer death in young adults ages 20-39. Metastatic brain tumors (cancer that spreads from other parts of the body to the brain) occur at some point in 10-15% of people with cancer and are the most common type of brain tumor (3). In the United States, the overall incidence of all primary brain tumors is 14.1 per 100,000 people. There are over 120 different types of brain tumors, making effective treatment very complicated. Brain tumors can be malignant or benign, and in either case can be life threatening.
Because brain tumors are located at the control center for thought, emotion and movement, their effects can be devastating. At present, standard treatments for brain tumors include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, used either individually or in combination.
Brain tumors in children are different from those in adults and are often treated differently. Although as many as 73.3% of children will survive, they are often left with long-term side effects (4).
Enhancing the quality of life of people with brain tumors requires access to quality specialty care, clinical trials, follow-up care, and rehabilitative services. Improving the outlook for adults and children with brain tumors requires research into their causes and better treatments for brain tumors. Complete and accurate data on all primary brain tumors is needed to provide the foundation for research leading to improved diagnosis and treatment and to investigations of its causes.
Journal
Friday, August 20, 2010 8:07 AM CDT
**********8 YEARS TUMOR FREE TODAY************
Hi All,
We are celebrating 8 years tumor free AND Chase's next MRI scans are not due until next July (2011). YES!! Thank you God! Chase has been doing wonderfully. He had an appt. with Dr. Rosin a couple of weeks ago and although he is still patching his left eye to make the brain aware that he has 2 eyes - not 1 - the brain is starting to accept that idea. Our choking episodes haven't occurred in some time and although he resists at times, we are still working on our speech (My New Orleans boy!). Life is good and we thank God for every moment. Today is officially, "Chase day" in our home :D
As always, thank you for all of your prayers, concerns and messages (Chase's loves reading them). Have a wonderful day!
Erin (Chase's Mommy)
P.S.: Please pray for our very good friends, "The Sherwood Family" as Baby Billy is fighting Neuroblastoma. www.caringbridge.org/visit/babybilly
Read Journal History
Hospital Information: Home
New Jersey
Links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIMFBvIS6WQ&feature=PlayList&p=EEEC994014E67C85&index=3 Chase singing
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