Tackling Tumors For Beefcake

Meet my amazing 9 year old son DeAndre aka "Beefcake". He is the apple of my eye and brings me so much joy. He is a fun, energetic, loving kid who loves his family and making new friends. In February of 2017 he began having severe headaches which progressed to vomiting. I took him into the ER thinking it was no big deal and maybe he had some sort of "bug". Little did I know that my "Beefcake" was soon to be diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (a rare genetic condition that forms tumors on the brain, spinal cord and hearing nerves) and had several brain and spine tumors. He would need immediate surgery to relieve the pressure building in his brain and have a VP shunt inserted. He initially had emergency surgery to place an external drain in his brain and we spent 12 days in the ICU. During this time, I of course was unable to work as I was his full-time caregiver. After his recovery, we spent the next several months dealing with complications, more testing and numerous doctors visits. However, Beefcake was able to return to school and pass the 1st grade!!. I returned to work in the end of June and tried to play catch up financially. Things were going well, until I begin noticing Beefcake having weakness on his left side. He struggled to open  bottles, open doors, play on his tablet and even hold a fork. Follow-up MRI's revealed more tumors and he had another surgery in September. Afterwards he was drastically weaker than before his surgery and became quadraplegic, eating safely and breathing on his own became high risk. Donations go towards the purchase of a wheelchair van so that Beefcake can leave the house for more than just doctors appointments. Thank you for sharing and supporting. Update: Beefcake is wheelchairbound and has a tracheostomy and is attached to a ventilator and is currently fed thru a tube in his stomach.