Hunta-Jays little soldier Journey

Hunta-Jay's story as told by his Mum, Tina;

Easter weekend 2014 was the most terrifying and undoubtedly the hardest time of my family's life. After 4 weeks of doctors consultations and A&E visits my family and I watched helplessly as our 6 year old son screamed continuously from the pain in his head.

4 weeks of doctors consultations and A&E visits had lead us to this point. Hunta-Jay woke one morning and started vomiting and upon examination doctors claimed it was Gastroenteritis. After 10 days of treatment at home his condition hadn't changed and for some reason Hunta-Jay's balance was somehow unstable. He would fall or trip while walking, or he would collapse, like his legs had just gave way. Again he was examined, but this time we were told he may have food allergies. 2 weeks of testing showed nothing abnormal, yet we were still left asking as to what was wrong with our son?

Then the headaches started. At first we were told to great it with paracetamol. We noticed Hunta-Jay was always sleepy after each dose,and for 3 days the vomiting and headaches were manageable. Come day 4 we woke up to Hunta-Jay screaming. No amount of paracetamol could ease the pain. Then he started vomiting violently, it looked like something straight out of Exorcist.Back at the doctors surgery we asked to see another GP. Upon examination he noticed abnormalities in Hunta-Jays eyes. He then told us he thought the problem was NEUROLOGICAL so he referred us back to the hospital.

After 2 days of waiting due to specialists being on holiday for Easter, medical staff rushed him to radiology for a CT scan as the steroids and morphine were no longer managing the pain. When they returned they told us that they had found a tumor measuring 4.49 in diameter situated in the fourth ventricle of the brain and that he was going to be airlifted to Starship Hospital in Auckland. Hunta-Jay however didn't get a ride in the chopper as it had crashed in Taupo so our lil man was transfered by Ambulance.

Once in Auckland specialists put Hunta-Jay under heavy sedation. They feared going over the recommended dosage of morphine & steroids would prove fatal. They inserted an EVD (extra ventricle drain) so they could drain all the fluid build up in and around his brain. It was planned that they take just a small portion of the tumor for biopsy once the excess fluid had been drained, then we would start radiation and chemotherapy to shrink the tumor and eliminate any cancer cells incase it had travelled down his spine. But Hunta-Jay wasn't draining any fluid, another CT scan showed the tumor blocking the circulation of the cerebrospinal fluid and Hunta-Jay went into code BLUE, we thought we had lost him.

Surgery to remove most if not all of the tumor was discussed. Doctors wanted to delay the procedure, but we didn't want him slipping away from us so we sought help to get things moving. Surgery took just over 8 hours. Hubby and I were emotional wreaks. Once he was out we were told that they were only able to remove 97% of the tumor,for the remaining 3% they were hoping radiation & chemotherapy would either treat or eliminate it.

On the 22nd of May 2014 our son was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma or (MLD) a fast-growing, high-grade and aggressive tumor which frequently spreads to other parts of the central nervous system and is always located in the cerebellum. Medulloblastoma represents 15-20% of pediatric brain tumors.

Today our lil soldier (a nickname he's known by for all he's been through) has just finished his 5th cycle of chemotherapy. The 34 sessions of radiation therapy on his brain & spine completed.Apart from the hair loss, weight loss & NG tube you wouldn't think he was ill, and were lucky he hasn't lost any of his fine motor skills or the ability to speak. Our family count our blessings every day. We take nothing for granted and are extremely grateful to all those who have supported us throughout his journey.