Chance was born October 22, 2002 a healthy normal little boy. He was very bright and advanced in learning. He was like a sponge taking everything in. He was potty trained at 18 months of age and learned to walk and talk at an early age. He was always inquisitive about how things worked and why they worked that way, always eager to learn more. Chance was very active in sports and his hand and eye coordination was unbelievable. He was a normal active little boy. He loved any type of sport and loved playing outside.
One mid-October morning in 2006, Chance began vomiting. He was diagnosed with a stomach bug which had been going around. For the next five or six days he acted normal running around and playing with his sister. Then he would wake up and begin vomiting all day again, he continued this pattern for about two months. He would just vomit all day once a week. It was like he just had a stomach bug. The pediatricians it was the bug lingering. He was diagnosed with strep throat throughout this period. When he had been diagnosed with strep earlier, he would vomit all day until his antibiotics would kick in.
Finally, in late November Chance saw a gastrologist. The gastrologists ran a couple of tests (barium swallow, and endoscopy), nothing showed abnormal. He also ran a CT-Scan on his head. The CT-scan determined that Chance had a brain tumor. The gastrologist said that Chance had a large tumor located on the right side of the brain close to his ventricle. The doctors had discussed he would need surgery to remove it right away. They had scheduled surgery the next Monday (it was currently Thurs. Dec. 14th, 2006).
The first operation was on January 2, 2007 and they did a wonderful job. The surgery didn’t go as well as we hoped but the surgeon did all he could at that time. Chance’s blood was completely turned over and the risk was too great to go any further with tumor removal (in other words, Chance’s blood supply was completely replaced and any further surgery would increase the risk of losing him on the operating table). The first surgery lasted eight hours. It seemed like an eternity, but Chance recovered from surgery well. He was swollen and he needed a little assistance at first with all the everyday needs. Considering he just had major brain surgery he did really well though. The nurses and doctors couldn’t believe how well he recovered. He stayed in ICU for about a week, each day making more progress. Chance even spoke when he first came out of surgery and asked for something to eat. God is truly amazing.
Chance was diagnosed with a rare form of a medulloblastoma childhood brain tumor, Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor (ATRT) and was confirmed by several doctors. This form of malignant cancer has a dismal prognosis in young children. Children less than 3 years of age have a less than 10% survival rate, and unfortunately this type of tumor is usually diagnosed in children less than 2 years of age. Chance’s cancer had metastasized (spread) to one other location on the left side of the brain and he also had two spots on the spine. The main tumor was 3cm by 5cm. The small spot on the left side was the size of a dime. The spots on the spine were the size of the end of an ink pen and the other the size of your pinky. The doctors really never gave Chance a survival rate, but there had been new research on this type of particular tumor, which showed a 70% survival rate for children over 3 years of age with this particular treatment.
Chance then took his battle with this tumor to Duke just two days later after being released from ICU in Norfolk. Chance’s oncologists Dr. G. said Chance was fighting a monster, but to be hopeful and positive. He would do everything in his power to provide the best health care. Chance’s protocol was six weeks of radiation to the brain and spine, then six weeks off to recover and then followed by 4 months of high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell rescue.
Chance began telling his parents that God was healing him and also told them before he went to be with God that God had healed him. On July 6, 2007 God completely healed Chance; he went to be with the Lord at 12:00. Prayers were answered and Chance was no longer suffering. Chance has won; he is a winner, now we all have to praise God, live life right to see Chance again one day. Don’t forget, Chance is healed, he is shooting ball, playing golf, or fishing right now.