was started in the summer of 2010 after our 2 year old son was diagnosed with Ependymoma, a malignant brain tumor. Coleson has had surgery to remove the tumor and 33 rounds of proton radiation and is doing great. Now we want to give other families in similar situations hope and help them along the way. Well, here is the story. It all started after Coleson had tubes put in his ears and his aednoid
s removed. He never really was quite himself after this surgery. He was irritable and grabbed his ears and head a lot. When we went in for his 1 week check up the ENT doctor said everything looked good and that some kids just took longer to heal and that was why he was probably pulling at his head and ears. We were getting ready to go on a family vacation to the Smokie Mts. that we had planned months ago not realizing he would have a surgery so close to our vacation. The doctor thought it would be okay to go ahead and go. Christmas night we loaded up to head out on our 16 hour trip. Coleson seemed tired but that was expected since it had been a long day and he really hadn't felt well anyways. We drove all night and finally the next morning stopped in Knoxville for breakfast. While we were there Coleson got sick. We thought it was just from drainage but little did we know this was one of the first signs of the brain tumor. We got back on the road until we had made it to Gatlinburg, Tennesse. The next few days Coleson grabbed at his head more and pretty much just laid around not wanting to eat or drink. Two days later, Monday, Coleson was dehydrated. We took him to an urgent care clinic and they rehydrated him and told us he would be back to himself by tomorrow. Tomorrow came and he appeared more hydrated but was still very tired and not wanting to eat or drink. On Wednesday, he woke up and vomited again and was just out of it. We decided to take him to a hospital to find out what was going on. There they rehydrated him again and sent us on our way telling us he would be back to himself by that evening. Once again he did not bounce back. For the next couple of days we took turns with my parents stay at the condo with Coleson or taking the girls to do things. Thank you Mom and Dad! Finally on Friday we convinced my parents to take the girls to a show. While they were gone I got on line and did some research. After some researcing I decide Coleson must have altitude sickness. Once my parents got back we loaded up and started heading back. On the way back, Coleson showed signs of improvement. After we got home Coleson played for a while and then took a nap. When he woke up from his nap he again started crying and pulling at his head and ears. We decided something was really wrong and we were going to take him to Cook Children's Hospital. Once we were there they decided to do a ct scan since this had been going on for a while. Little did we know we were about to be told our son had a brain tumor. The next 2 days were a whirlwind. He had a MRI on Sunday and on Monday was in the OR for 7 hours removing the tumor. Praise the Lord they could remove it. After 2 days of waiting we found out that the tumor was malignant (cancer). They said he would be in the hospital for 2 to 3 weeks but because of all the prayers that went out he was home in 9 days. There were a lot of side effects that could have come from the surgery but Coleson's have all been minor. He is not walking on his own right now because of balance. This will come with time. He also has one eye that has turned in but that will also correct on it's own. That is minor compared to what it could have been. Coleson still has a long road ahead of him but we know he is in the loving arms of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have had an unbelievable amout of strength and peace through this all and know we would have none without Him. Thank you for all the prayers and support! Regi & Julie
