Jay V.
North Carolina
Birth Date: September 25, 2005
Diagnosis: Medulloblastoma
Theme: Realistic Dogs
Due Date: March 1, 2020
Jay's Story
Jay was 13 years old when he was diagnosed with brain cancer that is called Medulloblastoma. He was having headaches and vomiting and we took him to the emergency room in our home town. He was taken by air ambulance to a bigger hospital that was capable of performing the surgery he needed to remove the tumor. He had his first 9 hour brain surgery in North Carolina.
We made the decision to take him to St. Jude in Memphis for treatment. Once there his team decided he would have another brain surgery to remove what was left of the tumor. He had another 8 hour surgery at a Children's hospital in Memphis. That was followed by 30 proton radiation treatments. The first 17 to his entire brain and spine and then 13 to just the tumor bed. We were then able to go home for a 5 week break. He is now in the middle of his course of chemo. That consists of 7 rounds.
While it has been very difficult to have our family temporarily separated for his treatment, we are thankful for many things throughout this process. The support of our family, friends and community has been amazing. The care he has received at St. Jude and the kindness and care of the people who work there have been beyond what we could have imagined. We have also met some wonderful people in Memphis and we have felt very welcome here.
Jay is the strongest person I have ever known and has had such a positive attitude throughout all of this. Despite his treatments he participates in school, physical therapy and occupational therapy at the hospital on a regular basis. We are so very proud of him.
"Jay absolutely loves the quilt ❤️ It is the most beautiful thing I have seen in my life. We can’t thank you all enough for doing this for him."
