Shawn VanBlarcom Shawn VanBlarcom

So here's the scoop! Shawn was complaining of a headache Saturday, March 5. We gave him ibuprofen and we went to his last show choir competition in Holmen. He complained of a headache most of the day, but sang and danced like a trooper! By Saturday night and into Sunday, Shawn had flu-like symptoms. He stayed home Monday and Tuesday from school. Tammy took him in to the doctor on Wednesday. The doctor was a little concerned about the range of symptoms, but thought to try an antibiotic first. By Thursday, Shawn was complaining of being very weak and unable to walk. We took him to the ER. They did a CT scan and noticed a large bag of fluid on his brain. The ER doctor got on the phone right away. The initial thought was to send him to Marshfield. However, they didn't have a pediatric Nero surgeon. So on the the phone she went again! We ended up in an ambulance to Gillette Children's Hospital in St. Paul. Shawn was given more meds in that 12 hours than he's had in his whole life! The doctors were unsure if it were just a cyst or a tumor. So off to the MRI machine he went. He was one of the first people to use their new 3D MRI. The staff was super excited! After that, we waited. When the doctor came in with the news, we were totally in shock! We had no idea he was so sock. The doctor said that the tumor had been growing for some time. So he wanted to do something called a functional MRI. So another ambulance ride to the U of M to get the specialized imaging. We will now wait for surgery. Please keep is in your prayers! We feel all the support and the peace that passes all understanding!