Love & Prayers for Nat Nat

December 5th 2018.....This day became the very worst day our family could have faced. Nothing could have prepared us for the news that was about to come. From what we thought was the flu became meningitis then encephalitis to a mass to a mass on the brain stem to a tumor.....then to the very worst diagnosis possible. On 12/6....After careful review of Natalie’s MRI, we were told that she had Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG). We were told that the tumor is inoperable with no cure and basically the survival rate was less than 1% for this type of cancer. We were told that this is the worst diagnosis you could give a child. After the wind was knocked out of us and our hearts completely shattered, we picked ourselves up and remembered who was in charge. We are praying for a miracle for our sweet Natalie. We know our Lord and Savior is walking her through this. We are seeing his healing power every single day! We are so thankful for her progress thus far! We will not give up hope. We will pray for whatever she needs each day to get her through this terrible disease. Backing things up a bit...Natalie was having trouble walking, talking and a terrible headache prior to rushing her to the ER in her hometown. She was taken to Batson Children’s hospital via critical care team. Upon arrival she was placed on mechanical ventilation and required insertion of tubes to remove the fluid off of her brain. We spent 20 days in PICU. She is currently in a private room receiving radiation therapy. She is improving daily! Once the oncology team believes her tumor is stable enough for transfer, We are praying to get the release to transfer her to St Jude for further treatment. We are so grateful for the staff, family and friends. Our hearts are broken but at the same time overjoyed from the love and kindness surrounding us.
DIPG is the worst ,ugly, evil brain tumor in childhood cancer. Please please continue to pray for this sweet child. She is beautiful, kind, funny and so much fun to be around! We love her so much!