Charlie Ertz

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.


Thanks for registering to check on Charlie!  Obviously, if you are here, you care about Charlie and the Ertz family.  We can't express our gratitude and outpouring of support.  Even though we did our best, I am sure that we missed someone.  Our apologies, but we just couldn't think of and add everyone.  If you know of someone we missed, please forward this to them.  Thank you!
It has been a whirlwind for the past weeks in the Ertz household.  We had started noticing a protrusion of Charlie's right eye in September, and it did not seem to be going away. Due to family history, we decided to get him to get it looked at.  Last Monday, Oct 24th, we visited an ophthalmologist at University Health (UH) regarding Charlie's right eye.  On Tuesday, Oct. 25th, we had an MRI and some other tests as it relates to his eye. On Wednesday, we received a call from the doctor stating it was a solid mass behind the eye, and that we would need to transfer from the University Health system to The Cleveland Clinic (Clinic) to see an eye physician that specializes in tumors and cancers.
On Thursday, Oct. 27th, we got into the Cole Eye Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. The physician diagnosed a large tumor pressing on the eye, the brain and other areas in the sinuses.  He cannot tell if it is benign or cancerous at this point. He referred us to an ENT (Dr. Troy Woodard) and a Neurologist (Dr. Pablo Reckons), who will perform the surgery on Monday, Nov. 7th to remove the tumor.  There are 3 possible outcomes.  First is that they remove the tumor through the nasal cavity and we go home in the next day or two.  (Obviously, this is what we are praying for!) Second is that a brain leak is created as the tumor is removed.  If this is the case, then they need to immediately open is head and do a bilateral craniotomy to repair the sack around the brain. (This is better than possibility 3, but worse than 1).  The third possibility is cancer.  Obviously, we are praying that it is not cancer. 
We report to the Cleveland Clinic Surgical Center (P20) at the Main Campus at 5:30 am on Monday, Nov. 7th.  The procedure determines what's next.  Stay posted. 
Thanks for all of the prayers, well wishes, positive thoughts and good juju!  We'll take them all.  We pray that Charlie has a swift recovery and NO CANCER.  God bless you all...
The Ertz Family