Support for Aidan and our family as we navigate cancer treatment for our 13 year old son - aftermath of grade 4 brain tumor.

Asking friends, family, friends of family, friends of friends and everyone in every circle in between, for help. Our strong, athletic 13 year old boy was just diagnosed with Anaplastic Medulloblastoma.

Just a couple of month ago he was playing baseball, a few weeks ago starting the 8th grade, now we are fighting aggressive cancer.

This started with a concerning few days of repeated vomiting and dizziness at the end of August/beginning of Sept.

I took him to Urgent Care on 9/5 and thought he was suffering from vertigo.

At the follow up with his Pediatrician on Mon 9/8, we were sent to Long Beach Memorial ER for fluid treatment for dehydration and some bloodwork. After a vision and balance test, his Pediatrician recommended a CT scan as well.

The CT scan dismissed our original thoughts of vertigo and impolded our lives with a spot found on his brain.

We were admitted to the hospital for an MRI of his brain and further treatment of his nausea and dehydration.

The result of the MRI on Tuesday 9/9/25 was a 2cm Hemorrhagic Tumor in the cerebellum of his brain.

Surgery to remove the tumor took place that Friday, 9/12/25.

Post-op MRI looked to be clear.

A second MRI to look at his neck and full spine to determine if isolated looked to be clear as well.

Surgery to remove full tumor was successful, but we had to wait for Pathology results to know if Benign or Malignant, and what next steps would look like.

We spent 9 days in the hospital pre and post surgery. His vitals were good and his recovery neurologically speaking went very well. He had full cognitive capabilities, speach, range of motion, all very positive, but had a hard 7 to 10 hours after surgery with constant vomiting, which left him very weak.

After careful observation and consistently good vitals, we were released to finish recovery from surgery at home on 9/17.

Since then, Aidan has been wracked with aggressive bouts of hiccups, which I've read are common after surgery and anesthesia, but they were so aggressive he was vomiting all food/fluid intake every 1.5 to 2hr for 2 days straight. We have been working through resolving that at home while waiting for the Pathology results and Oncology follow-up.

I received a call on Wed 9/24 that the tumor was cancerous. Medulloblastoma is the diagnosis and radiation would definitely be needed. They are still waiting on the molecular type, which will further narrow down treatment plan. We would learn more at our follow-up appointment with Oncology on Fri 9/26.

The prognosis was not what we were hoping for. This will not be a low dose preventative treatment situation we were expecting after such a successful surgery.

The Oncologist said this is Anaplastic Medulloblastoma. Due to where the tumor was located in the cerebellum, they couldn't scrape away enough if the surrounding tissue to remove all potentially cancerous cells without compromising his brain.

My baby is looking at an aggressive 7 to 8 months of Radiation + Chemotherapy.

First 6 weeks of Radiation + Chemo will be 5 days a week followed by 6 months of maintenance Chemotherapy.

He was expecting the doctors to say he is fine and they got it all out.

They are recommending Proton Radiation (l think that's what she said), which is a newer targeted form of radiation only done in Loma Linda or San Deigo (both are two hours away from our home). I don't even know if my insurance covers this. The 6mth chemo will be back at Long Beach Memorial Children's Villiage (20 mins from home).

I said to the Oncologist, I thought we found this early and got it out quick. This sounds agressive. What stage is this classified as. The doctor said brain tumors are not rated by stage but by grade. She said his tumor was relatively small, but would give this a grade 4, which to me means the same thing - or maybe it's worse (((!?!))) Idk....idk

We are completely gobsmacked right now. Our poor baby.

He has a Lunbar Punture scheduled on Fri 10/3 to take fluid from his spine, and appointment on 10/10 with the radiologist. They will also be scheduled to insert the chemo port.

AND we have to move from the home we've been renting for the past 19 years in the next few days. Our landlord passed away earlier this year. Her kids need to sell the house. We got the eviction notice on 8/1 and have to be out by 10/1. They denied our request to extend to the end of the year in light of Aidan's unexpected illness. We have no savings, low credit and too much debt to qualify to buy the house (as if we could afford $700k anyway) or to provide 1st, last, deposit anywhere, really.

Luckily, my brother-in-law is graciously letting us move into his house while we figure out our next steps in that regard.

My brain cannot compute it all.

I am utterly crushed in this moment.

My poor baby. To watch our strong, athletic boy struggle to recover from the surgery has been difficult. He is still so weak, and who knew hiccups could derail his recovery progres so much. He's lost 22lbs since 9/8. How is he supposed to get well enough in the next 4 weeks to endure such aggressive treatment, and smack in the middle of the holidays. This is truly heartbreaking and we are devastated.

The diagnosis and losing the house is affecting his older two older siblings as well, who are just as devastated about their baby brother and losing the only home they've ever known. Our grown son (22) is moving in with his girlfriend's family. Our 19 year old daughter will live with us and help care for Aidan (they are best friends) while still trying to attend classes at LBCC. She is asking her teachers for remote assignments as much as possible.

We have received an incredible outpouring of love and support from my posts on FB and Instagram as I've been adding daily updates on Aidan, and I am eternally grateful for everyone who is lifting us in prayer. It is so powerful. Please keep 'em coming.

I am reaching out now asking financial support. Whether it is big or small, every bit will help us climb this steep unknown mountain. I don't know how much of his treatments will be covered by my insurance, but I know I have a $5k annual out of pocket deductible. That kicks in again come 1/1/26. They anticipate he will be in ongoing treatment through June 2026. We desperately need help to ensure he gets all the treatment he needs.

Sending you all virtual love and hugs and please continue to pray for my boy, and for me and our family, that we can be a pillars of faith, strength and encouragement for him in this next very difficult phase.

Thank you so much❣️

Rhonda Rumbolz