What's going on...

At around 7:30pm on Sat, 12/1, we took Sophie to the ER at Central Dupage Hospital in Winfield, IL. She had been sick for the past 2 weeks or so, first with a cold, some vomiting, complaining of neck and arm pain, then progressively getting worse. We got blood work done the Monday prior, but everything checked out. Pediatrician told us to wait until the following Tues to see if anything got better, but by Sat night, we knew that something was not right with our little Soph. She had little appetite, spot vomiting, and insisted on lying down everywhere she was.

At CDH, they redid blood work, which again came back negative, and moved to get a CT scan. At 10:45pm on Sat, we found out that the CT revealed a 5cm tumor in her brain. At that point we were immediately transferred to downtown Chicago to Lurie Children's Hospital (formerly Children's Memorial Hospital), since it was beyond the scope of the CDH team. Upon arrival at 2am, and further examination, it was determined that Sophie needed to undergo an MRI (to further detail/clarify the tumor), and move immediately thereafter to the operating room, where they would remove as much of the tumor as they could.

She underwent the MRI at 9am on Sun, 12/2, which confirmed the diagnosis of brain cancer, with the unsightly name of medulloblastoma. The team worked all day Sunday to remove this cancer, and at 10:45pm on Sun, 12/2, she was back in the Pediatric ICU.

Yesterday, they removed her breathing tube, and she slowly awoke. We didn't know quite what to expect, but surely, our little Sophie began to emerge. She was very mad, wanted to go home, very feisty. Long night, but she got some rest. We expect to leave the ICU today and move to the neurosurgery floor for further recovery. We do not yet know too much about the cancer; still waiting on the pathology, but the neurosurgeon is pretty sure of the medulloblastoma. She did say there were still traces of the cancer on the brainstem, so chemo and radiation are likely options in the future. She may have some rehab in her near future while she recuperates, and cancer treatment will be looming on the horizon.

We are unsure of what's to come, but it appears to be a long road fraught with challenges and hurdles. We are so confident that our feisty Sophie will battle her heart out, and Jeannie and I will give everything of ourselves to help her. We ask that you please keep her in your regular prayers, and remember our family in these tough times. Selah is in good hands with grandmothers, friends, and she is taking full advantage of the opportunity to use her sister's toothbrush. J

We have a room at the Ronald McDonald House downtown, which is a wonderful place to sleep at night, and get some meals. We aren't completely sure yet, but Selah may join us down there, with help to watch her from family and friends.

With regards to help, there's not much, outside of prayers. Our church community is mostly taking care of food things, but if you are local and want to provide a meal, please work with our friend Jen Cho (jencho2000@yahoo.com) to coordinate the schedule. I asked my sister Jeanne to look into options for the hospital cafeteria, maybe a reloadable gift card if they offer could be an idea? Local restaurants might be nice, but it'd be hard for us to get away for an extended amount of time.

For visits, we welcome visits, but please be flexible. We may need to break away, or not even be able to see you, depending on how Sophie is doing. She is our #1 priority. If you come, please hang out in the waiting areas, and one of us will try to get out to you. For Jeannie's side of the family, please coordinate visits thru Peter, and on Jason's side, most are not local, so just contact Jason (847-924-6821) if you'd like to visit.