There were many early signs starting at the age of 12 that were overlooked by different doctors. Fast forward to August 2023 my 16 year old daughter went to take her test to get her drivers license. She could not pass her eye exam. We took her to an optometrist who said she needed a specialist. The specialist then told us something was wrong and we needed to see our primary doctor right away. The brain CT was ordered ASAP and that's when our lives completely changed. Having to search for a neuro oncologist just didn't seem real. They thought it was a Craniopharyngioma and surgery was the way to go. But of course it turned out to be a different type of tumor and they didn't removed much of the tumor and we were told radiation and chemotherapy would be the treatment for this type of CANCER. She would need a little time to recover from the surgery before treatment. It was extremely hard to have to explain right after this surgery that this battle was far from over. This was her senior year of high school and now she going to miss who knows how much of her senior year. She had a part time job that she gave up because she knew this surgery was going to be rough. All of this was so hard on her. Our health insurance became an issue right after surgery. They were denying CT scans that were needed to plan radiation. Our insurance sent us a letter stating that her brain surgery was not necessary for her brain tumor. During all of this I was working full time my husband is working full time and we have our youngest daughter who was 8 at the time. As I was getting ready for work a St Jude commercial come on and all I can remember is hearing no family has to worry about paying any medical expenses. I immediately thought could that be the answer?? As soon as I got to work that morning I googled St. Jude, and wrote an email to them. A few days later she was accepted as a patient. That night I packed bags for myself and two daughters. My husband had to stay home to work and take care of our animals. I quit my job in the morning packed the car for our 12 hour drive having no idea what to expect but all that mattered was getting my daughter help. 8 months away from home, 6 rounds of chemo and 30 days of radiation later her tumor is gone and she is slowly recovering. We have been home for 3 months now. She missed all of her senior year but was able to graduate with the help of St. Jude's school program. She has AI, adrenal insufficiency, blind spots in her eyes and issues with memory but she has a future. This has been the hardest past year but we have a lot to be grateful for and are trying to restart our back into the real world lives. 

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