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Today is Penny’s Day!

March 12, 2010 By 3 Comments

These are pictures of my beautiful cousin Carina and her sweet baby girl, Penelope.  And her hunky daddy, Aaron is in there, too. :)   They are a typical Southern California family working hard to make ends meet.  Aaron works long hours as a software salesperson and Carina is going to school to become a  nurse. They are college educated.   They are devout Chargers fans.   And about 2 weeks ago, their world was turned upside down.

Penny is 11 months old and has been diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma.  Cancer.

A disgusting disease and nobody should have to watch their loved one suffer though it.  Especially if that loved one is only a baby.

These past weeks have been a whirlwind.  They were told devastating news, and also came to the realization that Penny’s private insurance policy sucks.  It will only cover 60% Of Penny’s treatments…and those treatments are adding up FAST.

Today, I am trying to spread awareness of Penny and of Neuroblastoma.  If you live online at all, Neuroblastoma is the disease that just claimed sweet Layla Grace.  We don’t want this monster to claim another innocent baby.

Neuroblastoma can occur in many areas of the body. It develops from the tissues that form the sympathetic nervous system (the part of the nervous system that controls body functions, such as heart rate and blood pressure, digestion, and levels of certain hormones).

Most neuroblastomas begin in the abdomen in the adrenal gland or next to the spinal cord, or in the chest. They may also start in other areas. Neuroblastomas can spread to the bones (face, skull, pelvis, shoulders, arms, and legs), bone marrow, liver, lymph nodes, skin, and around the eyes (orbits).

The cause of the tumor is unknown. Neuroblastoma is most commonly diagnosed in children before age 5. The disorder occurs in approximately 1 out of 100,000 children and is slightly more common in boys.

In most patients, the neuroblastoma has already spread when it is first diagnosed. ~Google Health

We are asking people to spread the word.  Read about Penny on her website www.pennies4penny.org.  DONATE if you can.  Every penny helps!

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Pennies for Penny

March 3, 2010 By 10 Comments

I told you all last week about my infant cousin, Penelope who was diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma.  Well, I got to go visit her yesterday and so I wanted to share an update with you.

From what her mommy & daddy tell me, Penny bumped her head last week.  A few days later, she developed these terrible black eyes.  So they had her into the doctor and suspected she must have it it really hard, or maybe there was a bleeding disorder going on.  A few different thoughts on it.  Well, when her eyes didn’t clear up, the doctor had them take her to the emergency room.  I guess they thought maybe something was broken.

They spent a long time at the ER having cat scans done to look for breaks or something to explain the back eyes.  Several hours later, a doctor pulled the screen and told them that they had found “something” on the cat scan.  He told them right then that he thought it was neuroblastoma.

Penny was admitted to the hospital where my cousin’s life changed.

I suppose if you want to find the silver lining here it would be that less than 5% of these cases present in the face with the black eyes.  If her eyes hadn’t done that, they would still not even know she was sick.  And because they were able to discover and diagnose the cancer before her 1st birthday, it makes treating it that much better.  Even still, her prognoses for complete recovery is only 60%.

My beautiful cousin went from being a doting mother of a perfect 11 month old, to being worried sick for her child.

Poor sweet Penny has gone from being a rambunctious little thing with an Italian appetite, to being lethargic and quiet.

Seeing her yesterday broke my heart.

This isn’t fair.  Penny was a planned baby, very wanted and so loved by a HUGE family.  For this to happen to her just isn’t fair!

I got the privilege of creating a website for Penny.  There will hopefully be some content on there in the next couple days.  Her dad is currently writing up the past weeks events and we’ll have them posted soon.  As you can imagine, he’s a little busy right now.

There will be a paypal account created for Penny and her care.  Currently, their insurance will only cover 60% of her treatments.  That leaves a lot to be made up.  Penny will have chemo on a weekly basis and who knows what kind of surgeries will be in her future.

I hope you feel compelled to bookmark her site and continue to pray for her healing and her parents strength.

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Today Is A Really Screwed Up Day

February 27, 2010 By 20 Comments

Today I’m frustrated.

And sad.

Really, really sad.

I found out yesterday (my whole family found out yesterday) that my cousin’s beautiful baby girl, Penny has Stage 4 Neuroblastoma.  Whatever the hell that even means…I don’t know.  I only know that my family is reeling and Penny is in a fight for her life.

My cousin has had a jacked up year and this is just one more thing that she doesn’t deserve.

I guess little Penny is one sick little girl.  Tumors rage throughout her body, her eyes are puffy with dark circles underneath.

I just want to vomit.

This isn’t even MY child, but she is my family and my heart is hurting.

And then to make me feel even worse, it’s raining outside and my boys are going stir crazy.  I can’t help getting irritated with them and then I am so angry at myself for being mad.  Here are these beautiful healthy little boys who are driving me NUTS.  Penny’s not even old enough to drive anyone nuts.

She’s not even one.

If you are a spiritual person I would really appreciate it if you could send some prayers her way.  Fund raising efforts are in the very very early stages but if you feel compelled, you can follow them on Facebook at Pennies for Penny.

*sigh*

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