Sponsored family

Julia’s parents found out she had a brain tumor in February of 2022 when she fell after losing her balance. She was immediately admitted to the hospital and waited until she could have a craniotomy to remove the 4 centimeter tumor that was wrapped around the brain stem. She was in the ICU for 2 days followed by a 2 week stay in the hospital. 
 

The tumor that was removed was found to be a cancer of the central nervous system- Grade III Anaplastic Ependymoma. The best course of treatment for this type of cancer is complete tumor resection followed by radiation treatment. Since Julia was only 9 months old she had to wait for radiation treatment until she turned 1. Even at 1 year of age, she could only receive radiation treatment to the specific area of her tumor. 
 

Julia had 2 rounds of chemo followed by 6 weeks of radiation to her brain. Julia almost had a year of clear scans before she had a recurrence with the cancer spreading to her spine in January of 2023. Julia had surgery to remove the tumors and had 6 weeks of radiation on her lumbar spine. 
 

In October the cancer had spread back to her brain with 2 new tumors. She will begin chemo at the end of October in attempts to shrink and/or keep the tumors stable. Her treatment will plan is to have 2 rounds of chemotherapy ( 1 week of chemo and 2 weeks off is a round) and then check the status with an MRI. This treatment will continue until a new trial opens with Texas Children's that she is already approved for. It will be an immunotherapy treatment. She will stay on these treatments for at least the next 6 months depending on how the tumors respond. The ultimate goal will still be to have radiation treatment of the full brain and spine once she is old enough. This could be once she is 3 years old or a little later if the tumors respond well to treatment.
 

Julia's mother took leave from work as a Band Director and ended up resigning from her position to care for her. She now teaches clarinet lessons on a limited part time basis that does get interrupted when Julia needs surgery or additional treatment. In addition to Julia, there are 3 older siblings at home- Thomas (age 10), Araceli (age 8) and Joseph (age 5).

 

We are hoping that The Stride Project can help generate support for medical parking fees, help with meal preparation or meal trains and help with light housekeeping for  the weeks when Julia is receiving treatment.