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, September 30, 2008

Lauren got her glasses!!...albeit toy princess glasses from Target. She really wanted glasses, so what could I do? She was crying for them. I told her, "Lauren, you're my spoiled-baby, so whatever you want, all you have to do is cry." This didn't go over very well with Hilary, but oh well. And besides we're putting a stop to all this spoilness starting today. No more stuffed animals, toys, soda or candy for awhile. Except for a Wow Alive white tiger toy that she is getting Granda to buy her. Then that's it! Except for maybe some soda to wash down her chemo. But that's it! Really. I have spoken. Of course, whenever I tell the girls I'm the boss of the house, they both smile and then laugh. But seriously, it's a tough balancing act since we want to reward her for being such a trooper during this time, especially when she is on her chemo, but we also don't want to create two monsters (since we have to buy Marissa a toy whenever we buy Lauren a toy).

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