Spring of 2018, Sylvia's kindergarten year, she began to complain of headaches that increased in frequency and level of pain.  Eventually she began to vomit almost daily.  Her pediatrician ordered an MRI and in that scan a brain tumor was revealed.  Sylvia was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma- the most common childhood brain tumor.  Sylvia went through 3 brain surgeries in the next week, the longest being over 8 hours in which her tumor was successfully removed.  She went through 30 rounds of proton radiation and 4 months of chemo.  She finished treatment in November of 2018.  She is currently cancer free and has MRI's and lumbar punctures every 3 months to make sure her cancer has not returned.

In addition to the side effects of radiation and chemo (hair loss, nausea, etc), Sylvia struggled with posterior fossa syndrome which is common after brain surgery.  She had to learn to walk and talk again along with regaining coordination with her motor skills.  For 10 months Sylvia did 4-6 hours of rehab each week.

Despite all she has gone through, Sylvia continues to be the kind, tenderhearted child she has always been.  She loves animals, Legos, and swimming.  This spring we were able to go on her Make a Wish Trip to San Diego for an animal adventures.

We support Alex's Lemonade Stand, Make a Wish, are members of Hope Kids, and in September we're going to host our 2nd annual Color Street Nail Bar and use our hostess rewards to get nail polish strips to donate to cancer patients at Children's in Minneapolis.

*Click on the photo of Sylvia to see more from her session.