Help Charlie fight brain cancer!
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Help Charlie fight brain cancer - for the second time!
This sweet little boy is Charlie. He is a charming, funny and clever 6 year old boy. At 4.5 years old, Charlie was diagnosed with a brain tumor called medulloblastoma - a type of brain cancer that grows in the lower back part of the brain. Since that day, his family’s life has been turned upside down.
Charlie is a fighter. He has overcome so many obstacles during the past year and a half, but his battle is not over.
In October 2018, the day after his tumour was found at SickKids hospital, he was rushed into surgery to remove the tumour. Once healed from his surgery, chemo treatment began in November which included countless hospital stays, surgical procedures, painful dressing changes, blood transfusions, fevers, vomiting and weight loss . In January 2019, the severe complications began when Charlie started his very strong chemo protocol. The chemo treatment caused Charlie to develop to an extremely rare and life-threatening autoimmune disease called Thrombotic Microangiopathy (TMA). TMA can cause clotting in the smallest blood vessels inside the body's vital organs including the kidneys, intestines, heart, and lungs. In Charlie’s case, his kidneys were most affected and his kidney damage led to skyrocketing hypertension and kidney disease. The TMA was also causing fluid build-up in his body around his lungs and heart. His condition worsened in February, requiring him to be in the ICU for 6 weeks. The scariest point of his journey was when he was sedated and put on a ventillator (breathing machine) to breathe for him because his lungs were surrounded by fluid and they could not function properly. Thankfully, Charlie's incredible team of doctors at SickKids arranged for a specialized life-saving drug and protocol that was able to treat the TMA and prevent further organ failure. Given the complexity, severity, and rarity of his condition, it was a miracle that Charlie was able to regain his strength and slowly recover from this terrifying disease.
After living in the hospital for 4 months with his mom, Charlie’s health slowly improved and he was finally discharged home from SickKidsin May 2019. To this day, he continues to suffer from stage 3 kidney disease, takes several medications to manage his hypertension, and still requires close monitoring and blood tests to manage his health. Despite all this, Charlie returned to school in September 2019 and thrived among his kindergarten classmates.
Throughout all this time, Charlie also continued having regular MRIs to look for any tumor recurrence. In April 2020 the family received the news that no one wanted to hear. A new brain tumour was found in Charlie's brain and was growing quickly. A second brain surgery was quickly scheduled for May 19, 2020 to remove the tumour. Thankfully the surgery went very well. Unfortunately, surgery is not enough as the risk of recurrence still exists.
Due to the adverse effect that chemo had on his body the first time around, this is no longer a treatment option for Charlie and the only other option is radiation treatment to hopefully eradicate any cancer cells remaining in his brain and spinal cord.
In Canada, photon radiation is the only treatment option offered which can be very damaging to the cognitive and physical development of young children. An alternative and more promising treatment option is proton radiation which is offered in the US. Proton therapy can deliver a high dose of radiation to the tumour but a much lower dose to healthy tissues. As a result, patients typically experience fewer short- and long-term side effects.
In June, Charlie, his parents and his 8-year old brother Benjamin will be travelling to the United States for 8 weeks to allow Charlie to have this life-saving treatment at the Cincinnati Children’s Proton Therapy Center. Unfortunately, accommodation, living expenses, and travel costs are out-of-pocket for the family.
There has been an outpouring of family, friends and colleagues wondering how they can support this loving family. We have set up this GoFundMe page to support them on the next leg of their journey in hopes of relieving some of the financial burden associated with travelling to the US for Charlie’s radiation treatment.
Throughout this journey, the family has shown tremendous resilience and positivity. Liza, John and Ben have all suffered in their own ways yet have always remained positive and take on each new challenge with strong faith that Charlie will conquer this disease. Your support in helping Charlie and his family during this next chapter will provide them with the added encouragement of knowing they have so many friends and supporters who have them in their prayers!
This sweet little boy is Charlie. He is a charming, funny and clever 6 year old boy. At 4.5 years old, Charlie was diagnosed with a brain tumor called medulloblastoma - a type of brain cancer that grows in the lower back part of the brain. Since that day, his family’s life has been turned upside down.
Charlie is a fighter. He has overcome so many obstacles during the past year and a half, but his battle is not over.
In October 2018, the day after his tumour was found at SickKids hospital, he was rushed into surgery to remove the tumour. Once healed from his surgery, chemo treatment began in November which included countless hospital stays, surgical procedures, painful dressing changes, blood transfusions, fevers, vomiting and weight loss . In January 2019, the severe complications began when Charlie started his very strong chemo protocol. The chemo treatment caused Charlie to develop to an extremely rare and life-threatening autoimmune disease called Thrombotic Microangiopathy (TMA). TMA can cause clotting in the smallest blood vessels inside the body's vital organs including the kidneys, intestines, heart, and lungs. In Charlie’s case, his kidneys were most affected and his kidney damage led to skyrocketing hypertension and kidney disease. The TMA was also causing fluid build-up in his body around his lungs and heart. His condition worsened in February, requiring him to be in the ICU for 6 weeks. The scariest point of his journey was when he was sedated and put on a ventillator (breathing machine) to breathe for him because his lungs were surrounded by fluid and they could not function properly. Thankfully, Charlie's incredible team of doctors at SickKids arranged for a specialized life-saving drug and protocol that was able to treat the TMA and prevent further organ failure. Given the complexity, severity, and rarity of his condition, it was a miracle that Charlie was able to regain his strength and slowly recover from this terrifying disease.
After living in the hospital for 4 months with his mom, Charlie’s health slowly improved and he was finally discharged home from SickKidsin May 2019. To this day, he continues to suffer from stage 3 kidney disease, takes several medications to manage his hypertension, and still requires close monitoring and blood tests to manage his health. Despite all this, Charlie returned to school in September 2019 and thrived among his kindergarten classmates.
Throughout all this time, Charlie also continued having regular MRIs to look for any tumor recurrence. In April 2020 the family received the news that no one wanted to hear. A new brain tumour was found in Charlie's brain and was growing quickly. A second brain surgery was quickly scheduled for May 19, 2020 to remove the tumour. Thankfully the surgery went very well. Unfortunately, surgery is not enough as the risk of recurrence still exists.
Due to the adverse effect that chemo had on his body the first time around, this is no longer a treatment option for Charlie and the only other option is radiation treatment to hopefully eradicate any cancer cells remaining in his brain and spinal cord.
In Canada, photon radiation is the only treatment option offered which can be very damaging to the cognitive and physical development of young children. An alternative and more promising treatment option is proton radiation which is offered in the US. Proton therapy can deliver a high dose of radiation to the tumour but a much lower dose to healthy tissues. As a result, patients typically experience fewer short- and long-term side effects.
In June, Charlie, his parents and his 8-year old brother Benjamin will be travelling to the United States for 8 weeks to allow Charlie to have this life-saving treatment at the Cincinnati Children’s Proton Therapy Center. Unfortunately, accommodation, living expenses, and travel costs are out-of-pocket for the family.
There has been an outpouring of family, friends and colleagues wondering how they can support this loving family. We have set up this GoFundMe page to support them on the next leg of their journey in hopes of relieving some of the financial burden associated with travelling to the US for Charlie’s radiation treatment.
Throughout this journey, the family has shown tremendous resilience and positivity. Liza, John and Ben have all suffered in their own ways yet have always remained positive and take on each new challenge with strong faith that Charlie will conquer this disease. Your support in helping Charlie and his family during this next chapter will provide them with the added encouragement of knowing they have so many friends and supporters who have them in their prayers!
Organizer and beneficiary
John and Liza Friends
Organizer
North York, ON
Liza H
Beneficiary
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