Skip to content
BACK to Stories

Our Little Hero

Published on April 4, 2017 in Share Your Story

Our little Walker was 7 months old when I realized something was not right. He had been diagnosed with torticollis when he was just 2 months old and had been going to physical therapy for it ever since. It seemed to be improving until December of 2015. One day I noticed he wasn’t using his right arm nearly as much as his left. A couple days later I noticed he was kicking less and less with his right leg. A couple days after that, the day after Christmas, I noticed the right side of his face had begun to droop a little bit. And when he tried to smile it took extra effort for the right side of his mouth to match the left side. In the back of my mind I knew something was wrong but kept hoping it was just side effects from his torticollis.

I took him to his doctor that Monday and she immediately sent us to Children’s Hospital to get an MRI. Since he was so little, they would have to put him under to do the MRI so he wouldn’t wiggle. That was so scary for me! Little did I know that would be the least of my worries.

The neurosurgeon was waiting for us outside our hospital room when we returned from the MRI. He kept asking us if we had any history of cancer in our families. Then he dropped a bomb. Our perfect baby boy had a brain tumor taking up almost half of his head. His surgery was scheduled for the following Monday.

He ended up having to have a “brain drain” put in a couple days before his big surgery to relieve the pressure in his head. The tumor had a large cyst attached so it drained out the fluid. His surgery was about 6 hours long but he did great throughout the whole thing. The next day I was sitting in the chair next to his bed and I looked over to see him staring at his right hand and moving his fingers around. Being mom I of course cried but I was so happy to see him recovering so quickly!

At first his brain had a hard time absorbing all of the fluid on its own so they put another “brain drain” in. After another week or so he was absorbing it on his own and was able to go home! Since then he is doing AMAZING! His tumor was low grade so luckily he hasn’t needed chemo or radiation. He still has two small masses in his head that we are keeping an eye on with MRI’s. As of his last MRI, the report said they looked “less conspicuous” so they had actually shrunk a little! Talk about a miracle!

Walker will be 2 in May and his daddy and I are so so proud of him! He amazes me with how strong and brave he has been in his first two years of life. Walker continues to grow, learn and play just like a typical toddler. He has taught me so much and is my little hero!


Opinions expressed within this story belong solely to the author and do not reflect the views or opinions of the National Brain Tumor Society.

Stay Informed & Connected