Callie’s battle against Ependymoma

The past month has been a rollercoaster of emotions for the Stillwell family. Unfortunately mid December they found out that Philip would be laid off from his job where he had worked for the last 16 years, right after Christmas. Not long after, their family was hit with a bad cold while finding out that they were losing their insurance benefits with the end of the year coming. Unfortunately Callie was still not herself and had developed new symptoms which were chalked up to a stomach virus. For the 2 next weeks they were in and out of doctors and hospitals trying to figure out what it could be. Not long after, Callie developed a new symptom and was severely constipated. At the hospital they helped relieve the constipation and sent them on their way to monitor as they felt comfortable letting her go home with fluids and constipation remedies. Unfortunately Callie’s symptoms did not subside and eventually got worse. They found themselves back at the children’s hospital where they ordered a million tests and found intussusception in her intestines. Soon a MRI was ordered and their lives completely changed. It was there that they found a mass in Callie’s brain. Their whole world stopped.. what they thought was a case of sever constipation turned into their worst nightmare. Before we knew it, surgery was scheduled and there was no time to think or breathe. Thank the lord the surgery was a success and the amazing team of surgeons were able to remove the entire tumor without complication. Unfortunately, Callie still has a long road ahead of her. In the upcoming weeks they will be leaving their home and headed to Orlando where Callie will receive radiation treatments to ensure the entire remanence of the tumor and cancer cells are gone. As you can imagine the medical bills are only just beginning and already piling up. They are not ones to ask for help, however right now they have no other option as Philip is still out of a job and insurance until we are hopefully approved for Medicade. We are asking that you please share this page, and there go fund me to help them in any way you can. They are so thankful for everyone who has reached out and checked on us throughout this whole process. They cannot begin to express the gratitude and love they feel from everyone. Please continue to keep our sweet Callie Jean in your prayers. We have a long road ahead of us but we are ready to kick cancers butt!