Ian’s Road to Recovery

 In late June, 7 year old, Ian Milligan was diagnosed with a brain tumor called a medullablastoma. He had surgery two days later at our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge. While the surgery was successful in removing the tumor, Ian‘s recovery has been hampered by a series of post surgical complications known collectively as Posterior Fossa Syndrome. And has never fully regain consciousness since surgery. Although he spoke several times and the days after the surgery and gave other indications of awareness such  as pointing and waving. These hopeful signs have disappeared. Having the tumor was supposed to be the worse part but this Syndrome has actually been unimaginable and devastating.
    He has been treated with radiation at St. Jude‘s in Memphis and will return for four months of chemotherapy when he gets strong enough.
   In the meantime, he is home and is able to be taken to a facility to receive hours of intensive therapy three times a week. Ian is having to learn how to hold his head up, eat, talk and walk on his own again. The therapy center in Baton Rouge has been amazing and everyone is seeing Ian show some strength and improvements.
    While Ian is at home, Barry and Melanie, his parents, are Ians only caretakers. They are having to do everything else themselves. And as exhausting as this may be, their main struggle right now is transporting Ian, in his wheelchair, back and forth to therapy. Something so small has turned into a challenge because they do not have the proper means for transportation.
This struggle and Ian’s road to recovery may take years. With Melanie unable to work, we
started this page because we would like to help ease some of the worry/stress for the Milligan’s. Please help in anyway you can!

We also set up this page to help spread awareness of this heartbreaking medullablastoma tumor post surgery complication, Posterior Fossa Syndrome. Thank you for your support!

With kindness,
LuLu Ribas and Katy Lovell