Our July Cancer Cutie is this brave beautiful boy Owen and he needs all our love, prayers and donations.
Stay strong Owen we love and adore you! Here is his story below.
April 27, 2015
This is the story of Owen, my 18 month old nephew. Both daddy and mommy are Veterans of the United States Army and need your help.
No one can explain their circumstance better than what comes from his Owen’s mother’s heart.
We appreciate as many prayers as we can get. Please visit our fund raiser at gofundme.com/Owens-Expense. Owen needs to be transported by flight from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Boston, Massachusetts as soon as possible.
I just wanted to take a moment to thank every last one of y’all. The support we have been shown has enabled us to push through the most difficult time of our lives, one day at a time; sometimes hour by hour. From the time he was born until recently, Owen never displayed any signs of illness. Those of you who know me would agree because I have smothered Facebook with enough pictures since day one (I tend to be a lil obsessive), but there wasn’t a single symptom.
One month ago, almost to the day, I put Owen to bed and within minutes he threw up. All day he had been fine, so instinctively I began to dread a stomach bug making its way through my house. Long story-short, Owen wasn’t getting any better, and no one else was getting sick. He began vomiting more frequently until it became a constant occurrence. He was lethargic, and couldn’t even keep the anti-nausea medication down when we brought him back to the ER for the third time. At that point (day 14) Owen had lost 8 lbs. (1/3 of his total body weight) and was extremely dehydrated. Tommy and I came with an overnight bag and assured them that we were not leaving until they told us something other than “there’s a nasty bug going around”. We were eventually sent to Children’s Hospital in Oklahoma City for further evaluation. We were not in any way prepared for what came next.
The mysterious stomach bug turned out to be an advanced stage of brain cancer! They were as delicate as they could be, but there’s no gentle way to explain:
You’re beautiful baby boy has a rare form of brain cancer that has now spread throughout his spine as well.
His case is exceptionally difficult because rather than one large mass, he has hundreds of tiny tumors that divide and spread rapidly.
His tiny body can’t sustain the amount of radiation that would be needed; therefore survival is a long shot depending solely on his ability to withstand high doses of chemo that will make him far worse than with standard rounds.
Devastated doesn’t begin to cover it, but we refuse to give up hope. Percentages mean nothing to me because he is still here with us today in spite of having endured 4 surgeries (2 brain, 1 chest, 1 back) this week. Our entire focus HAS to be on him if we are going to see him through this and that is ALL I care about at this point…seeing him through regardless!
The donations that have been so generously given to us mean more to me than I could ever express. They have allowed me to pursue the absolute best Children’s Hospital in the country for pediatric brain cancers, and there is no way to repay the hope that brings me. I know I cannot do this on my own, and I am eternally grateful that I have not had to!
We love you all for the prayers and compassion for my precious poopsie!
~April (Mommy)
You can make a difference and donate to Owen at www.psiadoreyou.com
Every penny of your donation will go to this Brave little boy!
