Owen Erickson Owen G Erickson

Owen was admitted to the children's hospital on May 25th for failure to thrive because he was not gaining weight and was not eating very well. He did really well for the first 3 months of his life and thrived in every way possible and reached every milestone a child should up until about March/April. Owen started to refuse to eat his bottle so we thought that he had a formula allergy. So, at his 4 months check up we spoke with our pediatrician about the lack of weight gain and the problems with feeding. She sent us to children's hospital which has been a blessing! They started off with a bunch blood and allergy tests and the end result was with an MRI on his brain and that's when they found a tumor. A biopsy was scheduled and they found that the tumor is cancerous and is categorized as a low- grade astrocytoma which is located near the pituitary gland. They also found another small mass at the base of his neck. The doctors at Children's decided that the best treatment for Owen would be Chemo Therapy for 10 weeks and then do another MRI to see if there is any shrinkage of the tumor and adjust treatment if needed. To receive chemo  Owen also had surgery to have an implanted port put in his chest and a G-J tube (Gastro-jejunal tube) put in his stomach to make feedings easier as he was not taking bottle feedings. We will continue to keep everyone updated as much as we are able but it can get a little overwhelming remembering who we have updated and who we haven't. We decided to start this page as a convenient way to keep everyone updated. Thank you to everyone that has helped us out during this tough time and to all those who have been praying for our family. It is appreciated more than anyone could know.