Ian’s journey began on August 15th when he went to the clinic in Bowman because he wasn’t feeling well and wasn’t eating or drinking. His bloodwork came back with a high white count so we were sent to Bismarck for a lumbar puncture to rule out meningitis.
Bismarck did a lumbar puncture, sent blood for more tests, and admitted him while waiting for results. The pediatrician sent Ian for an MRI while waiting for test results.
The MRI in Bismarck showed a large mass in the right side of Ian’s brain. He was sent by chopper to Fargo to a specialist.
More imaging and testing was done in Fargo and the results of the tests started to trickle in. The cause of Ian’s symptoms was an acute case of West Nile (probably picked up on our trip to Glacier the week before) and finding the tumor was purely a fluke.
We went home from Fargo on the 22nd and Ian went back to everyday life for a couple weeks while he got over the West Nile.
On September 10th Ian had a craniotomy to remove a large chunk of the tumor. It was a long surgery but he did great! He was released from the hospital on the 14th and went home. He got to spend time with his friends, went back to school, and even went bow hunting.
We received a diagnosis of CNS Neuroblastoma and spent 4 days in Fargo for post op checkups and additional testing. Additional testing has not shown any other cancerous cells, but this is a rare type of embryonal tumor that will require treatment.
We spent the day at Mayo on October 2nd meeting with the oncologist, radiation oncologist, neurosurgeon, and the rest of the team. We went back to Fargo and met with his neurosurgeon there as well.
The current treatment plan is to do another surgery on October 15th to attempt removal of the remaining small pieces of tumor. We will then go home until post op the end of October. At that time, we will more than likely be heading to Mayo for the setup phase and planning for radiation and chemo. We may get to come home for a few days at the beginning of November. When setup is complete, Ian and I will be heading to Mayo for 6 weeks of radiation and chemo. If everything goes as planned, we should be home by Christmas!
CaringBridge is a nonprofit social network dedicated to helping family and friends communicate with and support loved ones during a health journey. Learn more about CaringBridge.
