Remembering to Have Fun

Connor has always been an out-going kid who makes friends easily and loves to be outdoors. He loved riding his bike, camping, and swimming. At age 7, we noticed that things were changing for Connor. He started falling frequently and people were noticing that his speech was slurred at times. He could no longer walk long distances and he stopped riding his bike. He complained that the bike was broken because he couldn’t keep his balance. On August 28, 2014, we discovered that Connor had a cerebellar brain tumor. We learned that the best treatment for his tumor was a craniotomy to remove the tumor. 3 days later, Connor was admitted to NCH and underwent a 12 hour procedure in an attempt to remove the whole tumor. Connor had a difficult recovery and spent the next 30 days at NCH going through rehabilitation to relearn everyday skills like walking, talking, and getting dressed. Even after discharge, Connor continued for over a year with therapies to regain lost skills. In October 2015, we learned about A Kid Again. When we started putting AKA activities on the calendar, our world got brighter. We have all experienced a kind of healing that only comes through focusing on the fun again, rather than the illness. We have made so many friends and feel so blessed to be included in this organization. Connor will have 8 more years of MRIs as we monitor his tumor site for new growth. In the mean time, we will take every moment we are given to be thankful and remember how important it is….to be A Kid Again!

“A Kid Again is like a life-line. Something we can point to each month and look forward to as a family.”

A Kid Again has allowed our family to spend time together in very special ways with a whole group of new friends who take care of every detail so we can just focus on the kids. When you spend every minute juggling doctor’s appointments, medical bills, work, and school….the good stuff gets left behind. Birthdays go without balloons, holidays are spent at home resting, and siblings often start to feel left out because we are so focused on the illness. A Kid Again is like a life-line. Something we can point to each month and look forward to as a family. We make sure to put those events in big red letters on the calendar and it seems to make the yucky medical stuff pale in comparison. A Kid Again has helped us rediscover our love for all things fun. Our home is filled with bags, prizes, and photos that capture the magical moments made at the adventures. A Kid Again means the world to us. We are so thankful that we have been included in this amazingly generous and caring organization.

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