UPDATE 6/20/17 At this time, Grey is not eligible for any immunotherapy trials that we know of. Plan B is chemo and drug trials following radiation. He has about 3 weeks left! Keep rooting for us.
UPDATE 5/29/17 Grey's tumor pathology indicated that he has a grade 4 glioblastoma. This is the most aggressive form of brain cancer, and he is already experiencing rapid cell regrowth after a successful craniotomy. We are aggressively treating the cancer cells at this time with radiation, and may introduce both chemotherapy and immunotherapy. He is still feeling great right now, and we are doing our best to keep our hopes high! Please continue to follow and share our journey, and root for Grey's survival.
UPDATE 5/17/17 Grey underwent a successful craniotomy, and has been recovering well. Our next steps in the journey are to determine if the cancer cells are present anywhere else (mainly his spine and CSF fluid) and determine a treatment plan. His brain tumor pathology is not entirely complete yet, but we do know that it is complex and will require aggressive treatments most likely untilizing radiation and chemotherapy.
Topher and I are a bit beside ourselves right now, and are truly guided by our support system!! Please continue rooting for Grey, and for us, as we stay the path to beat this.
So much love, The Braddocks
Friends & Family,
On Monday, May 1st, we took Grey into the New Ulm Medical Center for headaches followed by vomiting that occurred sporadically during the month of April. They discovered with a CT scan that he has a 5cm brain tumor in his frontal lobe. We have just moved to New Ulm, and this was our first visit to this clinic - so we decided to reach out to his regular doctor from Metro Pediatrics for advice. He called us early on Tuesday, May 2nd, to tell us he already spoke with Dr. Nagib and the Neurosurgery Associates team at Abbott Northwestern, and they were ready to help us. Tuesday afternoon, Grey did an MRI at Abott. He didn't like the IV, but was unphased by the MRI process. After the MRI, Topher and I sat with Dr. Nagib and some of his team and discussed the images. We decided to move on this tumor immediately. He has a pre-op appointment today, May 3rd, with his regular doctor and surgery is scheduled at Abbott tomorrow, May 4th. He will do a stealth MRI in the early AM at Abbott, and then we'll check in with Children's for pre-op labs and meet with more members of our medical team. He will be sedated at Children's, the surgery will take place at Abbott, and recovery will take place at Children's. After the surgery, the tumor will be tested to determine the next steps in treatment.
We are in shock. We are scared - but staying positive. He's got an enthusiastic medical team behind this, and he's doing his best to be brave. Everything is happening very quickly right now, but we appreciate all of your thoughts and sentiments. We've gotten questions about how you can help, and we're not sure right now but will use this CaringBridge to keep you updated.
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