Mother Takes Matters Into Her Own Hands
CERN Inspiration Story
In the summer of 2012, Samuel started complaining of pain in his left leg and hip. At first we thought that maybe he had just pulled a muscle or pinched a nerve. After a few visits to his pediatrician, he was referred to an orthopedic surgeon in Santa Barbara, CA and to physical therapy. He had MRIs of his pelvis and legs, bone scans and blood tests – which all showed nothing. The doctors were stumped. They decided to do an MRI of his entire back and that is when they discovered a tumor along his spine. We were shocked! We would have never thought he had a 2-½ inch tumor along his spine in his lower back.
Samuel had surgery to remove the tumor at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, a participating CERN Center. The laminectomy he had relieved him of the pain he was experiencing. He healed very quickly. Two weeks after his surgery, at his follow-up appointment with his surgeon, Samuel ran down the hall. It was incredible to see his progress.