Carson
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For those of you who don't know me, my name is Norm Beaulne and I have 2 brothers named Chris and Eric. Chris and I decided to start this GoFundMe page for our younger brother Eric and his family to help them get through these difficult times regarding their 4-year-old son Carson. Carson is scheduled to start his first round of chemo on Friday, May 6th.
Eric is married to Erica, and they have 3 boys named Owen (18 years old - Erica’s stepson), Carson (4) and Gryffin (2). To help you understand the severity of the current situation and what an absolute nightmare they’ve been going through already, we decided to write the whole story which began 5 months ago, all the way back in December.
On December 21st, Carson got sick and started vomiting, had a fever and even slept 21 hours that day! Eric and Erica decided to take Carson to CHEO the next day on December 22nd, and he was admitted right away.
Upon his arrival, the doctors did some blood work and determined that his white blood cell count was extremely high and at that point, they believed that he either had meningitis or leukemia. As a parent, I cannot imagine hearing those words!
Carson was scheduled to get discharged on January 5th but on January 3rd, he started complaining of a headache, started vomiting and then 2 hours later, had a seizure which lasted approximately 5 minutes. Doctors immediately did an emergency MRI, which led to the discovery of an “abnormality/lesion” on his left occipital lobe (vision) in the back of his brain. Since that day, Carson has been taking anti-seizure medication twice daily. Over the course of the next 3 weeks, Carson underwent weekly MRIs to identify the root of the problem. Since Carson’s case was so unique, the whole medical staff was stumped and couldn’t figure out what this lesion was. They speculated that he may have had the following: Infarction, abscess, tumour, infection, inflammation, or thrombosis (blood clot).
These were all ruled out at some point but were then put back on the table as a possibility. They were hoping that it was simply an infection caused by meningitis and that the penicillin treatments would clear it up. During Carson’s 34 days at CHEO, he had a fever of 104, a seizure, 2 lumbar punctures, 2 CAT scans, 5 MRIs, 4 EKG, 1 EEG, an eye exam, a hearing exam, blood tests, vital checks, all while receiving antibiotics intravenously.
On January 25th, despite not having identified the problem, Carson was cautiously discharged but would continue to receive at-home nursing care to continue his antibiotics treatment. On Feb. 1st, he had his 5th MRI, followed by a 6th MRI on March 16th. Doctors compared the two MRIs (6 weeks apart) and discovered that the lesion had aggressively grown by 2/3 in size. At this point, they needed to perform an emergency craniotomy. Since Carson was sick 2 days prior to surgery, they had to postpone his surgery one week later to March 30th because it was too risky. The surgery was supposed to last 4 hours, but it ended up lasting 6.5 hours. The neurosurgeons said that they removed 99% of the tumor. Doctors told my brother and his wife that this type of tumor was once again “rare” to begin with and even more so in children. After the operation, the doctors said Carson could not do any physical activity for 3 months so that his skull could heal. Try telling his 2-year-old brother Gryffin! Since it was a rare tumour, the pathologist sent the specimens to CHEO and SickKids. The good news was that Carson’s post-operation MRI revealed most of the tumour had been removed.
Now, the waiting began for the pathology results to determine if it was cancerous or not. Two weeks later, the Neurology Oncology team shared the devastating news that Carson’s tumour was cancerous. Carson was diagnosed with ATRT (atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumour) which is a rare, aggressive tumor of the central nervous system. In Carson's case, his chances of survival were slightly above 50%. Although they had removed at least 99% of the tumour, the oncologist
Eric and Erica have been through a roller coaster of emotions over the last 5 months. They have been strong and devoted parents, while caring for their 2-year-old Gryffin. Luckily with the help of the grandparents, they were able to get some rest to focus on Carson.
Over the next 6 months, Carson will be undergoing chemotherapy treatments. He will be doing 3 months at CHEO followed by 3 months at SickKids in Toronto because he also needs to get a stem cell transplant which can only be done at SickKids. Living 3 months in Toronto and spending time away from family will be emotionally and financially difficult. Doctors also informed them that Carson might have to do proton radiation treatments following the 6 months of chemotherapy. This specific proton radiation treatment is only available in Boston or Florida.
Eric and Erica will have to take an extended leave of absence from work to care for Carson. While these have been devastating and stressful times for Eric and Erica, our families, friends, and co-workers will stand by their side to offer support. As many of you already know, my brother would be the first to give the shirt off his back, and he has always been the first to help wherever help was needed. It's our turn to return the favour! No matter the amount, every donation will help ease the financial hit they will take in the coming months. Let's show our love and support! Please, share this story with everyone! Together let's help Carson kick cancer's ass!
Eric, Erica, Carson, Gryffin and Owen, please know that we are there for you and that we will beat this together!
To my little buddy, you are such a strong, energetic, loving and caring little "Spiderman". You give us all strength when it should be the other way around. As my brother would say: "He's a Beaulne!"
From the Moxness and the Beaulne family, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Uncle Norm
Eric is married to Erica, and they have 3 boys named Owen (18 years old - Erica’s stepson), Carson (4) and Gryffin (2). To help you understand the severity of the current situation and what an absolute nightmare they’ve been going through already, we decided to write the whole story which began 5 months ago, all the way back in December.
On December 21st, Carson got sick and started vomiting, had a fever and even slept 21 hours that day! Eric and Erica decided to take Carson to CHEO the next day on December 22nd, and he was admitted right away.
Upon his arrival, the doctors did some blood work and determined that his white blood cell count was extremely high and at that point, they believed that he either had meningitis or leukemia. As a parent, I cannot imagine hearing those words!
On Christmas Day, after spending three days in isolation, despite having already received his 3 Pneumococcal vaccines as an infant, they diagnosed Carson with a rare case of Pneumococcal Meningitis. After 9 days of intravenous antibiotics (penicillin), the meningitis was gone. I still remember my brother's text to me that day telling me: “I finally feel like I have my boy back!”
Carson was scheduled to get discharged on January 5th but on January 3rd, he started complaining of a headache, started vomiting and then 2 hours later, had a seizure which lasted approximately 5 minutes. Doctors immediately did an emergency MRI, which led to the discovery of an “abnormality/lesion” on his left occipital lobe (vision) in the back of his brain. Since that day, Carson has been taking anti-seizure medication twice daily. Over the course of the next 3 weeks, Carson underwent weekly MRIs to identify the root of the problem. Since Carson’s case was so unique, the whole medical staff was stumped and couldn’t figure out what this lesion was. They speculated that he may have had the following: Infarction, abscess, tumour, infection, inflammation, or thrombosis (blood clot).
These were all ruled out at some point but were then put back on the table as a possibility. They were hoping that it was simply an infection caused by meningitis and that the penicillin treatments would clear it up. During Carson’s 34 days at CHEO, he had a fever of 104, a seizure, 2 lumbar punctures, 2 CAT scans, 5 MRIs, 4 EKG, 1 EEG, an eye exam, a hearing exam, blood tests, vital checks, all while receiving antibiotics intravenously.
On January 25th, despite not having identified the problem, Carson was cautiously discharged but would continue to receive at-home nursing care to continue his antibiotics treatment. On Feb. 1st, he had his 5th MRI, followed by a 6th MRI on March 16th. Doctors compared the two MRIs (6 weeks apart) and discovered that the lesion had aggressively grown by 2/3 in size. At this point, they needed to perform an emergency craniotomy. Since Carson was sick 2 days prior to surgery, they had to postpone his surgery one week later to March 30th because it was too risky. The surgery was supposed to last 4 hours, but it ended up lasting 6.5 hours. The neurosurgeons said that they removed 99% of the tumor. Doctors told my brother and his wife that this type of tumor was once again “rare” to begin with and even more so in children. After the operation, the doctors said Carson could not do any physical activity for 3 months so that his skull could heal. Try telling his 2-year-old brother Gryffin! Since it was a rare tumour, the pathologist sent the specimens to CHEO and SickKids. The good news was that Carson’s post-operation MRI revealed most of the tumour had been removed.
Now, the waiting began for the pathology results to determine if it was cancerous or not. Two weeks later, the Neurology Oncology team shared the devastating news that Carson’s tumour was cancerous. Carson was diagnosed with ATRT (atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumour) which is a rare, aggressive tumor of the central nervous system. In Carson's case, his chances of survival were slightly above 50%. Although they had removed at least 99% of the tumour, the oncologist
informed them that chemo was the only option because this aggressive type of tumour would grow back. The oncologist also confirmed that the meningitis did not cause this rare brain tumour. In the end, the meningitis led them to accidentally discovering this tumour.
Eric and Erica have been through a roller coaster of emotions over the last 5 months. They have been strong and devoted parents, while caring for their 2-year-old Gryffin. Luckily with the help of the grandparents, they were able to get some rest to focus on Carson.
Over the next 6 months, Carson will be undergoing chemotherapy treatments. He will be doing 3 months at CHEO followed by 3 months at SickKids in Toronto because he also needs to get a stem cell transplant which can only be done at SickKids. Living 3 months in Toronto and spending time away from family will be emotionally and financially difficult. Doctors also informed them that Carson might have to do proton radiation treatments following the 6 months of chemotherapy. This specific proton radiation treatment is only available in Boston or Florida.
Eric and Erica will have to take an extended leave of absence from work to care for Carson. While these have been devastating and stressful times for Eric and Erica, our families, friends, and co-workers will stand by their side to offer support. As many of you already know, my brother would be the first to give the shirt off his back, and he has always been the first to help wherever help was needed. It's our turn to return the favour! No matter the amount, every donation will help ease the financial hit they will take in the coming months. Let's show our love and support! Please, share this story with everyone! Together let's help Carson kick cancer's ass!
Eric, Erica, Carson, Gryffin and Owen, please know that we are there for you and that we will beat this together!
To my little buddy, you are such a strong, energetic, loving and caring little "Spiderman". You give us all strength when it should be the other way around. As my brother would say: "He's a Beaulne!"
From the Moxness and the Beaulne family, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Uncle Norm
For those of you who are interested, Eric and Erica have created a blog so that they can provide you with updates and pictures throughout the next 6 months.
carsonsbattleagainstcancer.blogspot.com
carsonsbattleagainstcancer.blogspot.com
Organizer and beneficiary
Norm Beaulne
Organizer
Limoges, ON
Eric Beaulne
Beneficiary
