In December 2020, I took my 9-year-old son for his yearly physical. It was supposed to be a quick visit — no concerns, just our regular checkup. We fully expected to be in and out in less than 45 minutes.
As part of the routine, they checked his hearing. When the nurse told me that he wasn’t hearing well in his left ear, I laughed it off and said, “Oh, that’s why you don’t listen to me!” I assumed it was something minor, maybe an ear infection or water trapped in his ear from swimming. The doctor, however, suggested we see an ENT specialist just to be sure.
A few days later, we visited the ENT. After some tests, the doctor told us that my son was completely deaf in his left ear — and that he would likely need a cochlear implant. The words hit me hard. I remember asking him to slow down because I wasn’t ready to talk about implants before we even knew why my son had suddenly lost his hearing. But the ENT seemed unconcerned and moved on quickly.
Something inside me told me this wasn’t right. I called our pediatrician and demanded an MRI. Thankfully, they were able to get us a same-day appointment — on New Year’s Eve, 2020.
On the drive home after the scan, my phone rang. It was the pediatrician, and her voice sounded serious. She asked us to come in immediately to discuss the results. My heart sank — in that moment, I knew something was terribly wrong.
The MRI revealed a large brain tumor with fluid around it. Within hours, we were at Duke Hospital, preparing for emergency brain surgery. The operation lasted eight long hours. The surgeons were able to remove about 90% of the tumor, but the remaining 10% was wrapped around his brain stem and too dangerous to remove.
Six weeks later, we returned for a follow-up MRI to see how he was healing. That’s when we got the devastating news — the tumor had already grown back. Without hesitation, my son began chemotherapy, starting an intense year-long battle.
He went through months of treatments, hospital visits, side effects, and endless strength and courage that I still can’t fully put into words.
Today, three years later, my son has been stable. Each MRI since then has shown no new growth, and we are incredibly grateful for every day of good health. His next routine MRI is coming up next month, and we are praying it shows that the tumor remains stable.
I share this story because it’s a powerful reminder of how important routine checkups can be. We walked into that appointment thinking it was just another yearly physical — and walked out on a path that ultimately saved my son’s life.
To every parent out there: even if your child seems perfectly healthy, never skip those yearly visits. Sometimes, what seems like nothing can turn out to be everything.
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