Being Tough for TYLER! Cancer Sucks

Tyler Lipsky, a 23-month-old Oceanside NY resident, was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia earlier this year, and had finished undergoing high-dose chemotherapy treatments to fight the disease.  He was diagnosed on November 14. He was admitted to Winthrop hospital to start his treatments. The family received news there is fluid around his heart and he was be transferred to Columbia Presbyterian in Manhattan for a few days to monitor him in case anything happens with the fluid. He received his first round of 4 doses of chemo (4 rounds of chemo every 4 - 5 weeks and staying in the hospital for 10 days during each treatment. ) Tyler was then released to go home and continue outpatient services. Tyler’s numbers were looking great! He was talking and communicating more. He was going to intensive therapy to get him crawling and eventually walking. Things were looking great and we were all very hopeful. Unfortunately, the joyfulness didn’t last very long. Tyler had a CNS relapse, they found a mass in his brain. For a couple of days, the family noticed he was very lethargic and they decided to bring him to the ER. They did a CT scan and found fluid building up around his cerebellum, they put a drain into his head to relieve the pressure. He had an MRI the following day and the doctors saw the mass. Tyler had brain surgery to remove some of the mass that is in his brain. The neurosurgeon said he removed 70-80% of it. He did very good during the surgery. After speaking to his doctors the family decided to move him to CHOP- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. At CHOP Tyler will be able to receive all the care he requires under one roof.  Upon arrival, the doctors at CHOP decided to take Tyler for another brain surgery to get more of the mass. Tyler’s plan changes often, but the family does know that he will eventually need a bone marrow transplant. All the hospital stays and now being at CHOP for a minimum of 5-6 months are taking a toll on the family. Stephanie, Tyler’s mom is living in the hospital, while her husband Rob is home caring for their almost 5-year-old son Hunter.  The bills are piling up and now there is additional hotel and travel costs for Rob and Hunter to see them.

So I ask all of you to please pray hard for Tyler and the family. Any donation you can make is genuinely appreciated from everyone involved in Tyler’s battle.

“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.” John Wesley