Friday, January 23, 2009

Brain Tumors!






This holiday season has been wonderful! We are so incredibly blessed this year and have truly witnessed a miracle. Dawson has changed our lives and so has our ordeal. I am more emotional this holiday season than I have ever been. I guess it is because we came so close to loosing our Baby Boy that I am just thankful for everyday! This year could have ended so differently. I still struggle everyday with unanswered questions, Why? How? When? Why did he live and others don't? These questions I think will always be in my mind, survivors guilt they call it. Then of course the worry but I am dealing and he is thriving! :) The purpose of this post is to start to raise awareness for brain tumors. They happen daily to normal families. No parent ever wants to hear those words trust me! Research needs to be done, cures need to be found! Here are some statistics........

Brain tumors are the:

• the second leading cause of cancer‐related deaths in children under age 20

Today, January 23:

9 families across America will learn their child has a brain or spinal cord tumor.

A mother will grieve that her instincts about her child’s health were right.

A father will allow himself to cry, but only alone in the shower.

3 families across America will mourn the loss of their child to a brain or spinal cord tumor

Friends, family and community will try to make sense of an untimely death and the unfulfilled promise of a life.

6 families across America will transition to survivorship.

A mother will be too exhausted from providing constant care to her child to simply write checks to pay bills.

A father will again adapt his day, family and life to a new definition of normal, unlike any he had previously envisioned.

In the United States, approximately 3,750 children younger than age 20 were
expected to be diagnosed in 2007 with primary brain tumors, of which 2,820
were under age 15.1

Brain tumors are the most common of the solid tumors in children, and the
leading cause of death from solid tumors. Brain tumors are the second most
frequent malignancy of childhood death.

The incidence rate of 4.5 per 100,000 children is slightly higher in boys (4.7 per
100,000) than girls (4.3 per 100,000).

American Brain Tumor Association

http://www.abta.org

Dawson's picture about a week before he got sick I know now that he was suffering with such a severe headache :(
I am not sure what I am going to do quite yet, start a support group, do a benefit or marathon (Andrea), but for now I am going to do my best to raise awareness!!!

3 comments:

Jana and Family said...

Wow! That is a little depressing. I know awareness is key, still a little hard to hear sometimes! Let me know what I can do to help you on your quest, and if it is in my power I will do what I can.

Anonymous said...

Awesome Post Kristin. Can it be a walkathon too? I love you tons. You are stronger and more amazing to those around you than you think or know!

Anonymous said...

I'll never forget seeing how bad he was suffering the day of the wedding. It makes me upset to tears that we had no clue what was wrong. I love that lil boy.