Riley was just shy of 10 months old, a perfect healthy and happy baby, when she suddenly had some episodes of vomiting. Our first thought was stomach virus, and she was misdiagnosed as having such. However, less than a week later, Riley fell over out of the blue & began to lose consciousness. We called an ambulance and the scan in the ER revealed a very large mass in her brain. She underwent emergency brain surgery that evening and three days later we heard those dreaded words “your child has cancer”…Glioblastoma (stage 4 brain cancer) to be exact.

We were originally given a very poor prognosis and told “she will only survive a year or two at best”.

I began researching and learned many pediatric cancers are misunderstood and funding (therefore research) is limited. I reached out and gathered 2nd, 3rd & 4th opinions. Turns out Glioblastoma in infants in uncommon, misunderstood, yet treatable in many cases. Our family traveled to St Jude where we were finally given hope for a cure! Riley has had 3 brain surgeries and 6 months of an intense chemotherapy regimen. She is the strongest, bravest little girl I know & often has a smile on her face, even in the midst of treatment.

Riley recently turned 3 years old! She just had scans this week (nearly 2 years from completion of treatment) & she remains “No Evidence of Disease”. She is thriving & hitting all her milestones, like the little miracle she is…I hope her story can provide hope & inspire other families!