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

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

I am going to come out and just say it. Good news. I was told the MRI showed that the tumor has not gotten bigger, but in fact, it appears to have shrunk!! After waiting on pins and needles all day for a call from Dr. Finlay or Anna (our coordinator), I couldn't take it anymore and decided to just call Anna. Thankfully she was in her office. I asked, so....? She replied, Great News!! We reviewed the MRI this morning at 7am and it appears the tumor has shrunk a lot. I said, A LOT!!? Anna replied, maybe not a lot, but it appears it has shrunk. We'll find out more of the details tomorrow when we meet with Dr. Finlay in the afternoon. That's all for tonight, I just wanted to let everybody know the good news. I am now going to go celebrate with the family.

No comments: