Katie was born in Richmond, VA, on October 25th, 2000. Her first year was typical but just after her first birthday Katie developed nystagmus -- the horizontal movement of her eyes. Since she just had her 1 year immunizations, we thought she was having a reaction to the shots. The next day the eye movement was still pronounced and a phone call to the pediatrician did nothing to ease our minds. When told about Katie's eyes the next question was "Is Katie responsive?" An MRI the following day revealed a walnut sized mass in the middle of Katie's brain along her optic nerves. She had a craniotomy a week after the MRI to try to remove the tumor. Very little was removed.

Her follow up MRI three months later showed the tumor to be larger than at diagnosis so chemotherapy began. Because at the time there were no pediatric neuro-oncologists locally we traveled 2½ hours each way every 4 weeks for Katie to undergo a new chemotherapy protocol. She finished that initial treatment 21 months after it began at the age of 3. For the next 2 years Katie was free of treatments. However, just before her 5th birthday, Katie's tumor required another intervention. This time the chemotherapy was a pill that she could take at home. That didn't work and 6 months after beginning she started a weekly chemotherapy at our local hospital which now had a pediatric neuro-oncologist on staff. Another 6 months of treatment failed to stop the tumor and cyst and another craniotomy was scheduled in NYC. That surgery was a huge success with over 70% of the tumor being removed. However, the success was short lived when the tumor and cyst returned within 4 months of the surgery.

In April of 2007, Katie began IMRT at a facility 13 hours from home. Our entire family moved for the treatment to be with her. She came through the treatment well and her first MRI showed a significant decrease in the tumor and cyst. The MRIs since have proven to be a bit of a roller coaster with ups and downs. She also had an aneurysm that was found in November and repaired at yet another hospital in March of 2008.

She is a happy and enthusiastic 2nd grader that doesn't let all of the doctor's visits and appointments get to her. She has limited vision in her right eye and a large field cut in her left but still excels at school and art classes. She has a younger sister, Kelly, who she loves to spend time with.