The week before Thanksgiving 2016 was unknowingly the start of our fight. Cooper came down with what we thought was a virus and as his “stomach bug” symptoms disappeared we joyfully moved into the excitement of the holiday season. December 9, 2016 was the day that would change our lives forever. Cooper had a side step and dizziness that brought him to tears. I assumed his vision would be the cause, after all his dad had glasses at his age. But after 3 doctor visits we heard the dreaded words your child has a brain tumor. After one and half years of treatments including multiple surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation and PT/OT to relearn how to walk/talk and swallow we were sent home to navigate our new normal of monitoring reoccurrence and manage side effects.
Today Cooper is in 7th grade, marking almost six years post treatment with clear MRI scans and doing well. We still feel as if we are pretending to be “normal” while knowing our journey is not fully over– reminded by each MRI scan, each endocrine appointment, each hearing test, each neurology exam, each ophthalmology check, each IEP meeting, each medical history form…
We will forever remain changed from this experience!
