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Our lives are now divided by everything before and after September 28, 2018. Before that day, Grayson was all boy. He had just started 1st grade in a Spanish Immersion program at Hicks elementary in Frisco. He loves being active, playing with his friends, soccer, basketball, baseball, swimming and riding his bike. He loves being outdoors, camping and had just gone on his very first dove hunt with his dad. He loves going to church and participating in the kids choir on Wednesday night. He loves playing with cars and watching movies. His latest obsession became watching Dude Perfect on YouTube. Most of all, he just loves being surrounded by his family and friends.
In late September, we started to notice Grayson had some balance issues. He couldn’t walk in a straight line, had a hard time holding things and complained of dizziness. To any outsider, would look like he was clumsy. One Sunday afternoon, Adam took Grayson out for a bike ride. Grayson who had been riding his bike since he was four, could not balance. We knew at that moment something was wrong.
After a few calls back and forth with the pediatrician, we scheduled appointments with an ENT doctor for October 3 and a neurologist appointment for October 9. After a call from the school nurse saying Grayson had thrown up and a middle of the night waking from not feeling good, we took him to the pediatrician.
He saw the pediatrician Thursday, September 27. The pediatrician immediately called the neurologist and we had an appointment set for the next morning at 7:45 am. By 9 am Friday, September 28, we were driving down to Children’s Medical Center Dallas. We waited for hours in the ER. The neurosurgeon was pretty confident that it was a brain tumor after the CT scan, but we still needed to wait for an MRI.
Before the MRI, Grayson needed a drain because there had been so much fluid build up from the location of the tumor. The MRI showed the tumor was located between the cerebellum and brain stem. Surgery was scheduled for Monday, October 1. We were told the surgery could last anywhere from five to seven hours.
Grayson’s surgery lasted NINE hours. The surgeon was able to remove most of the tumor, but there is still some left on his brain stem. No one prepared us for after surgery. Grayson is having to relearn everything, but he is a fighter and is getting stronger every day.
On Friday, October 5, we met with an oncologist. This is the moment everything became real. He said your child has brain cancer. CANCER. Our current focus is to get Grayson strong. He meets with a physical therapist, occupational therapist and speech therapist every day. Once they feel he is strong enough to withstand three hours of therapy in a day, we will move to a rehabilitation center. The plan is to start radiation in November and chemotherapy in January and continue through July of 2019.
We have a long road to recovery, but Grayson is strong and brave and will fight through this. We are so grateful and humbled by all the love and support. We are going to fight this together.
Grayson's Favorites:
Color: Blue and Green
Food: Burgers, Pizza, Dumplings and Cheetos
Candy: There’s not one he hasn’t liked
YouTube: Dude Perfect
Football Team: Aggies by default
Hobbies- bike riding, reading, playing with cars, camping
Activities: soccer, basketball, baseball and church choir
Church: Prestonwood
In late September, we started to notice Grayson had some balance issues. He couldn’t walk in a straight line, had a hard time holding things and complained of dizziness. To any outsider, would look like he was clumsy. One Sunday afternoon, Adam took Grayson out for a bike ride. Grayson who had been riding his bike since he was four, could not balance. We knew at that moment something was wrong.
After a few calls back and forth with the pediatrician, we scheduled appointments with an ENT doctor for October 3 and a neurologist appointment for October 9. After a call from the school nurse saying Grayson had thrown up and a middle of the night waking from not feeling good, we took him to the pediatrician.
He saw the pediatrician Thursday, September 27. The pediatrician immediately called the neurologist and we had an appointment set for the next morning at 7:45 am. By 9 am Friday, September 28, we were driving down to Children’s Medical Center Dallas. We waited for hours in the ER. The neurosurgeon was pretty confident that it was a brain tumor after the CT scan, but we still needed to wait for an MRI.
Before the MRI, Grayson needed a drain because there had been so much fluid build up from the location of the tumor. The MRI showed the tumor was located between the cerebellum and brain stem. Surgery was scheduled for Monday, October 1. We were told the surgery could last anywhere from five to seven hours.
Grayson’s surgery lasted NINE hours. The surgeon was able to remove most of the tumor, but there is still some left on his brain stem. No one prepared us for after surgery. Grayson is having to relearn everything, but he is a fighter and is getting stronger every day.
On Friday, October 5, we met with an oncologist. This is the moment everything became real. He said your child has brain cancer. CANCER. Our current focus is to get Grayson strong. He meets with a physical therapist, occupational therapist and speech therapist every day. Once they feel he is strong enough to withstand three hours of therapy in a day, we will move to a rehabilitation center. The plan is to start radiation in November and chemotherapy in January and continue through July of 2019.
We have a long road to recovery, but Grayson is strong and brave and will fight through this. We are so grateful and humbled by all the love and support. We are going to fight this together.
Grayson's Favorites:
Color: Blue and Green
Food: Burgers, Pizza, Dumplings and Cheetos
Candy: There’s not one he hasn’t liked
YouTube: Dude Perfect
Football Team: Aggies by default
Hobbies- bike riding, reading, playing with cars, camping
Activities: soccer, basketball, baseball and church choir
Church: Prestonwood
