The Nihei's: Our Story
On April 1, 2008, our 4-year-old daughter, Lauren, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After her biopsy on April 8th it was determined that she had a bithalamic anaplastic astrocytoma with extension into her brain stem.
In the beginning of March we noticed a personality change in Lauren who normally is a very outgoing and happy-go-lucky kid. She became very clingy and shy. She didn't want to talk on the phone anymore, or play on the slide with the other kids at pre-school. By mid-March, Lauren started complaining about headaches. Her pediatrician thought it might be a sinus infection or that she may need glasses. He put her on antibiotics and we made an eye appointment.
A few days later when she started holding her head funny and her headaches returned we insisted on a CT scan. That's when her pediatrician sent us to the ER at Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) for a CT scan, and when our world was turned upside down and our nightmare began...
Story continues at bottom of page
Lauren had another MRI done on Thursday. We sent it overnight to Dr. Finlay at CHLA to review.
In the meantime, Dr. Shen, our day-to-day oncologist, stopped by and expressed concerns that the treatment Dr. Finlay is recommending will cause Lauren's brain to swell further and that there is not much room left for additional swelling. She is recommending a different set of chemo treatment.
Hilary and I have decided that we can't afford to wait any longer. We need to start some kind of treatment as soon as possible. Since we feel most comfortable and confident in Dr. Finlay, we have agreed to do whatever he recommends. We just need to start something NOW.
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