THE MOMENT OUR LIVES CHANGED

AUGUST 7th, 2019

Annalise,

We were waiting for your MRI results in an examination room. You were laying there bored, and droopy eyed. When you spoke your voice was soft, like you were just about to fall asleep. We all just wanted to go home. I remember being so worried for you. I cried at work that day. I thought you having a Celiac crisis called ataxia. Looking back, I wish it was. Anyway, the MRI seemed like a precautionary measure – one more thing to rule out. In a moment of silence, you, being your inquisitive self, blurted out a question, “How many people are there in the entire world?” Since I love indulging your curiosity, I looked it up on my phone. The answer: 7.7 billion. You said, “That’s a lot of people.” Shortly after that the doctors asked to speak with us in a separate room. That’s where we first heard them say, “We found something.” Our lives changed forever. Well Sweetie, as it turns out – about 1-2 kids per day are diagnosed with the same type of tumor as you – 1 or 2… out of 7.7 billion.