Mikaela, a Little Hero…

[written by her mama]
Mikaela is 7 years old and in 2nd grade. She is a vibrant young girl who enjoys spending time with family. She has fun by jumping on her trampoline, having make up sessions with her sisters and playing hide and seek. She loves her collection of squish-mellows and doing activities on her iPad.

Over the summer, Mikaela began feeling ill. She started vomiting and feeling nauseous followed by occasional headaches. After frequent visits to urgent cares and emergency room visits, spanning over a 3 week period, a CT scan resulted a mass in Mikaela’s brain. She was transported to St. Luke’s Boise Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), where she had her first brain surgery to have an EVD placed. This surgery was to aid in relieving pressure in her brain. Mikaela was admitted and spend 2 weeks in the PICU. During this time Mikaela was taken into surgery once again for a VP shunt. This shunt helps release Mikaela’s CF fluid from her brain. This fluid is normally drain into the spinal canal but because of the location of Mikaela’s tumor, it can not drain naturally.

In August 2023, doctor’s diagnosed Mikaela with Stage 4 diffuse midline glioma with a prognosis of 1 year. This is an aggressive and rare brain cancer and due to location can not be removed surgically. Mikaela went into surgery for a third time to place a port that will be used for blood draws. She has also began a 6 week radiation treatment that she will complete on October 16, 2023. She has been very brave through her treatments and has only experienced minor hair loss.

We are currently working with our oncologist to find a treatment or clinical trial for Mikaela.