Let me tell you a little something about my daughter Carly. Carly has been a fighter since conception and has battled her way through many events. Throughout my pregnancy, Carly insisted on coming early and although we fought very hard to keep her at bay, Carly was born 7 week earlier than expected. Fortunately she had no effects from the early birth except being placed on a heart monitor for six months. So I new from then that she was someone very special not just because she was my daughter but because she was a fighter and in what was to come in her life the best position to be in.

Carly was a typical little girl growing up. She loved to sing and dance. During the summer of 2003 at the age of 8 Carly started to experience headaches. With a family history of migraines that was what it was chalked up to be. However, they become more persistent and after several weeks and many tests and no explanations I decided to go to the ER and that was the beginning of her entire nightmare! Within three days Carly was airlifted to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where she would undergo brain surgery for placement of a shunt to help control the fluid that was building up around her brain. With still no explanation as to what was causing them we left he hospital 10 days later. They knew Carly has 12 lesions in both her head and spine but none were operable and were not indicative of tumors. We could only wait.

Several weeks later an MRI was done and another lesion had grown where it could be biopsied. This was when we found out that Carly had what is known as Primitive Nuero-Ectodermal Tumors (P.N.E.T.) of the head and spine. We were told of a level two study that was being done that may help but that hope of survival was not good. Knowing that Carly was a fighter, we took that chance and have never regretted it since. Carly underwent 5 rounds of very harsh chemotherapy, followed by a stem cell transplant, followed by 7 weeks of radiation therapy. All and all she spent approximately nine months in the hospital and missed all of third grade. Fortunately at the end of this hospital journey in July of 2004, Carly’s tumors were all gone and the prognosis was looking great!

It has been 3 ˝ years since her last treatment and she has had no reoccurrence. Carly is still closely monitored every 6 months and will have some lasting effects from treatment including some hearing loss but she has not let that keep her down. In fact Carly was just recently inducted into the Junior National Honor Society. This whole process has changed our family and Carly in so many ways. Carly is so dedicated to helping other kids now and does what she can to promote that. Carly is very active in Girl Scouting and loves to hold events to raise money. She recently participated in the “Freezin for a Reason” polar plunge for Camp Sunshine and looks forward to attending Camp Sunshine this year as she has done in the past. We have met many new people and friends along this journey and thank God everyday for what we have and who we have met along the way. Now you know a little more about my girl and why we love her so much. Would we have given up this journey in a heart beat, of course we would have, will we ever give up the fight, never!