Giving to Gabe

**Update** A wish foundation is sending us to Clearwater for 4 days. Gabe will get the opportunity to meet and swim with Winter and Hope from A Dolphin Tale and get to meet the other animals there. He will also see the ocean for the first time. He is very excited about this, even though we said NO to his first wish of "swimming and petting and hugging a shark" lol. The weather isn't supposed to be the greatest while we are down there, so we are raising more money in the hope that we can take him to a WARM and sunny beach soon. I am upping the goal money so that we can do that and visit CA to see the Cars (the Pixar movie) town, Radiator Springs, in Disneyland, in addition to taking care of Gabe's day to day needs. We also raised the goal because of the percentage (8% plus .30 cents per donation) taken out by both companies (gfm added a middleman that takes a percentage out, too). I wanted to explain everything so people didn't think we were being selfish or greedy- out of 8,000 dollars, $632 in fees alone were taken out and that doesn't include the .30 per donation. Right now we need every penny we get and every penny you can spare. We want to fill Gabe's life with great experiences! Please keep the prayers and cards coming! As far as Gabe's health is concerned: we had a scare about a week after his spinal tap that resulted in being admitted to the hospital again. An MRI showed something at the tumor location, but they aren't sure what- we have a follow up MRI scheduled for when we return home. The side effects of his Keppra are... not great. This is supposed to be the best medicine for seizures for someone like him but there are still side effects that include headaches, urination issues, blood count issues, violent outbursts, personality change, sleeplessness (this is a HUGE one for Gabe), disorentation, etc... side effects that can be easily caused by a returning brain tumor, too, which just makes things more uncertain and scary. Most times, Gabe is in good spirits and plays with his toys or his new guinea pig and talks about his upcoming travel.


Gabriel will turn 3 years old at the end of March. He is our only living child- after numerous losses, doctors told me I wouldn't be able to have a child. Gabriel's father and I already know he's extra special because of how hard he fought to be born into this world. Gabriel is a fighter in the best sense of the word. He has a lust for life, a fire in his eyes, and a smile that will melt your heart. Gabe has a kind and loving heart, a very accepting nature, and a brave spirit... BRAVE. Gabe loves learning and exploring. He loves running and jumping and climbing and giving us heart attacks. His favorite activity to do with me is paint. One day he asked me to help him paint a face and I showed him some Picasso's so that he knew he could paint a face however he wanted. Now, he will ask: Mom, can we make a Pablo Picasso? He has two finished paintings and more started. Gabe's favorite thing to do with Dad is "fix the things." He loves learning the names of tools, and the flashlight and hammer are his favorites. At night, Gabe prefers to sleep in "the big bed," and drapes his feet over my face, puts his head on his Dad's chest and his hand on his furry brother, Myles (our dog).

Gabriel has had no health issues until now. On November 9th, that all changed overnight. Literally. He was normal at bedtime. A little after 1 am, he coughed funny and I brought him to the living room to check him in the light. His eyes did not look right at all and he started projectile vomiting everywhere. He was weak and dazed and vacant. We rushed him to the ER nearest to us where the doctor laughed and said I was paranoid and that Gabe had a tummy virus. I argued. The doctor eventually agreed to do xrays of Gabe's abdomen to check for a blockage. While were waiting for the results, Gabe's eyes got worse. He was not there. He had a violent seizure that lasted almost 20 minutes. He was givien Ativan, Phenytoin, oxygen, and I don't know what else. A CT revealed a large mass in his brain. The doctor showed it to us and said the calcifications indicated that it was benign (he was very, VERY wrong) but that because of the swelling and intracranial pressure, Gabe would need Life Flighted to Geisinger Children's Hospital for an emergency craniotomy (brain surgery to remove the tumor). 

Gabriel arrived at Geisinger early Tuesday morning by helicoptor and was kept stable on steroids, anti seizure meds, fluids, etc until David and I got there (it was a 2 hour drive, but only 20 minutes by helicopter). An MRI was done to get more details and to plug into the surgery guidance system. We met with the amazing Dr. Kershenovich who heads the Pediatric Neurosurgery team at Geisinger and a pediactric oncologist. His surgery took place Thursday morning and he was gone from roughly 10 am to 8 pm.  Dr. K returned and told us that the surgery was different than he thought it'd be- he needed a larger incision, it was hard to tell tumor from brain tissue and the tumor went into the brain further than they thought it did (between the periatal and occipital lobes). We were told that a second MRI showed that the tumor was completely removed. Both doctors looked at a sample before sending it to pathology and said they were almost 100% sure it was cancer. According to the oncologist, it was most likely a PNET tumor (no known cause). 

Gabriel recently had a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) and MRI of his spine to see if this CNS cancer spread. While we were there for that, the oncologist confirmed the brain tumor was an SPNET tumor. He told us that we need to install a port in Gabriel's chest for three rounds of highly intensive chemo, then we'd have to travel to Philadelphia to have stem cell rescue... all of this as soon as possible. (MRI and LP were on the 3rd of December and surgery for the port/chemo/stem cell rescue is supposed to start the week of the 7th.) If anything has spread to Gabe's spine, proton (radiation) therapy will have to be done at Philadelphia, as well. At the end of this, Gabe will be admitted in Philly for 2-4 weeks for stem cell transplant (they wipe out his immune system completely and add back in the stem cells they harvested. He will need to be kept in a sterile environment there and at home for a while.)  After all this, the doctor gave us (I say 'us' because I am positive my heart will stop beating if Gabe's ever does) a 50% +/- 10% chance of survival.  There will likely be side effects of this kind of chemo ranging from hearing loss to cognitive delays to worse. Radiation... I don't even want to discuss the side effects of that.

My husband and I don't know what the future looks like beyond very chaotic, heartbreaking and stressful while Gabe undergoes treatment. Gabriel is the reason our hearts beat and we need our whole family together for a very long time.

Donations will be used for hospital bills (we have insurance, but our plan is being changed by the insurance company on the first and won't be accepted at Philly), gas, food, possible hotel stays if RM houses aren't available, and for things for Gabe. Gabe's quality of life is our number one priority- if chemo doesn't work and we have to make a tough choice, money will be used to go to places that Gabe wants to go to: the ocean, a car museum, the Crayola factory, etc. 

We will update as much as possible. If you cannot donate, cards are still very much appreciated!