Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation

We found out that Michael had Stage II Neuroblastoma on November 12, 2003. That was, without a doubt, the toughest day of our lives. At the time Michael was 2 years and 5 months old. It was an incidental finding. Michael had been experiencing some breathing problems which were initially diagnosed as bronchiolitis. The third time we went to the pediatrician she ordered a chest x-ray and that's when the mass was discovered. An enormous shock to us and the pediatrician.

We
were sent to The Children's Hospital in Denver via ambulance because of Michael's breathing problems. There he had a CT scan and that's when the ER doctor confirmed our fears that it was a cancerous tumor. The oncologist later told us that it was Neuroblastoma and the tumor was lodged in between his heart and his spine. However, the good news was that she was almost certain the cancer had not spread. They scheduled him for a tumor resection one week later. The oncologist and
the surgeon wanted to give Michael a week to stabilize his breathing, but at the time they were unsure if the breathing difficulties were due to the tumor since there are still many unknowns about Neuroblastoma.

Thankfully
on November 21, 2003 Michael's tumor was removed successfully. Following the tumor resection he underwent several tests to determine that the cancer had in fact not spread. We were and are very
fortunate! Michael now has to go to follow-up appointments once a year and for that we are extremely grateful!

Written by: Lisa Loomer