Fighting for the life of Riley
MOST of us would readily admit we couldn’t cope with caring for a small child with a potentially fatal illness, yet former Longreach resident Rebecca Bierton has held strong in the face of her two-year-old son’s brain tumour diagnosis.
Riley Murphy was diagnosed with a brain stem glioma tumour late last year and he and his family have now moved to Brisbane for treatment.
Yet Ms Bierton’s spirit rarely wavers despite Riley’s condition, and the everyday pressures of caring for his three-year-old brother and five-month-old sister.
“Our life has completely changed, but we just continue on day to day,” she said.
Calm and composed, Ms Bierton talked of the problems Riley has endured, from a heart defect doctors discovered when she was 18 weeks pregnant to conjunctivitis in his left eye which persisted up until the time he was diagnosed with a brain tumour in December last year.
Riley now undergoes weekly bouts of chemotherapy and a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan every six weeks at the Mater Children’s Hospital.
“The chemotherapy is stabilising the tumour and it has slightly shrunk,” Ms Bierton explained.
“But this treatment will never completely get rid of the tumour, it will only prolong Riley’s life.
“The only way he’ll ever be completely cured is to have it cut out.”
However, Riley’s tumour is positioned in an exceptionally delicate place in the brainstem, in a spot where the spinal cord and brain connect; an area responsible for vision, balance and strength.
For this reason, Australian neurosurgeons are refusing to operate on the youngster.
“No one will touch Riley in Australia as they all think the operation is too dangerous,” Ms Bierton said.
“He could die on the table or be brain dead afterwards.”
Frustrated and determined to do everything she can for her son, Ms Bierton is now searching for overseas specialists who will consider the operation.
She is also looking at the possibility of laser surgery.
“The laser technique could get rid of the tumour without aggravating the brain cells but it would be very expensive,” she said.
Ms Bierton will make the final decision of whether to go ahead with an operation in around nine weeks.
In the meantime she is waiting in hope that the tumour will continue to stabilise and not “take off tomorrow”.
“No one can give us a real answer as to how long Riley has got,” she said.
“He could have years left or it could happen tomorrow.”
Having her sister living with her, parents travelling as often as they can from Rockhampton, and next door neighbour helping out, Ms Bierton is grateful for support, which has steered her through the tough times.
“I also want to thank the Longreach community, especially the Longreach senior rugby league club, Shaun Walliss and Hayley Steele for their fundraising efforts,” she said.
Riley Murphy was diagnosed with a brain stem glioma tumour late last year and he and his family have now moved to Brisbane for treatment.
Yet Ms Bierton’s spirit rarely wavers despite Riley’s condition, and the everyday pressures of caring for his three-year-old brother and five-month-old sister.
“Our life has completely changed, but we just continue on day to day,” she said.
Calm and composed, Ms Bierton talked of the problems Riley has endured, from a heart defect doctors discovered when she was 18 weeks pregnant to conjunctivitis in his left eye which persisted up until the time he was diagnosed with a brain tumour in December last year.
Riley now undergoes weekly bouts of chemotherapy and a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan every six weeks at the Mater Children’s Hospital.
“The chemotherapy is stabilising the tumour and it has slightly shrunk,” Ms Bierton explained.
“But this treatment will never completely get rid of the tumour, it will only prolong Riley’s life.
“The only way he’ll ever be completely cured is to have it cut out.”
However, Riley’s tumour is positioned in an exceptionally delicate place in the brainstem, in a spot where the spinal cord and brain connect; an area responsible for vision, balance and strength.
For this reason, Australian neurosurgeons are refusing to operate on the youngster.
“No one will touch Riley in Australia as they all think the operation is too dangerous,” Ms Bierton said.
“He could die on the table or be brain dead afterwards.”
Frustrated and determined to do everything she can for her son, Ms Bierton is now searching for overseas specialists who will consider the operation.
She is also looking at the possibility of laser surgery.
“The laser technique could get rid of the tumour without aggravating the brain cells but it would be very expensive,” she said.
Ms Bierton will make the final decision of whether to go ahead with an operation in around nine weeks.
In the meantime she is waiting in hope that the tumour will continue to stabilise and not “take off tomorrow”.
“No one can give us a real answer as to how long Riley has got,” she said.
“He could have years left or it could happen tomorrow.”
Having her sister living with her, parents travelling as often as they can from Rockhampton, and next door neighbour helping out, Ms Bierton is grateful for support, which has steered her through the tough times.
“I also want to thank the Longreach community, especially the Longreach senior rugby league club, Shaun Walliss and Hayley Steele for their fundraising efforts,” she said.
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