Grayson Galuski

Welcome to our CaringBridge site, where we hope to keep family, friends and all of our supporters updated regarding our little warrior's fight against neuroblastoma.

Grayson Joseph Galuski is our 13th month old Mr. Personality who loves adventures, playing with friends, cuddles, reading books, and pointing at everything he wants or where he wants to go. He is what we look forward to most when we come home. We love watching him look upon the world with such wonder, innocence, and hope.  He's a smart little cookie, who enjoys speaking words in both English and Spanish.

In late July we noticed a few changes in Grayson's behavior;  he wasn't acting himself, became more fussy, and wanted to be held more than normal.  We attributed some of these signs to teething, sleep regression, bug bites, constipation, and lack of sufficient naps.  It didn't help that our pediatrician discounted anything serious, like cancer.

In the first week of August, we noticed other changes.  On Thursday August 4th, 2016, daycare made us aware that Grayson had been crying a lot, wasn't acting himself and noticed something unusual with his stomach.  My initial thought was constipation, since our pediatrician didn't notice anything serious at his 12 month check-up, 1 month ago.  Since we didn't want to take any chances,  I scheduled a visit with the pediatrician just to make sure everything was okay. The Pediatrician said something in his stomach did not feel normal near his splean and that it could be a large mass of poop or something else, but to be sure, they recommended a trip to Fairfax Inova Hospital for a closer examination. 

We packed a few bags just in case the stay was longer than anticipated. After checking into the ER, an ultrasound was performed where we learned a large mass was present in Grayson's abdomen.  Based on the location and the size, they were almost certain it could be cancerous. They couldn't determine anything else but wanted us to stay over night and continue with a CT scan the following day. The following day, Grayson underwent a CT scan which confirmed the size and location of the mass.  It also indicated the tumor was unresectable due to the the tumor's position, and how it's position encased several large arterial vessels.  We were told that the mass appeared malignant and that we would need to do a biopsy to confirm and determine what type of cancer it is. 

On Saturday August 6, a biopsy of the mass was done and sent to the pathologist. Once we receive the results  from the pathologist, we will better understand the type of cancer,  if it has spread, if other tests may need to be done, etc...

On August 9, it was confirmed that Grayson has neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer affecting the sympathetic nervous system.  Further analysis and staging revealed that Grayson's tumor falls into the high-risk category.


We're seeking treatment from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NYC, and locally at Fairfax Inova Children's hospital.