Zoo'n Around Preschool in Fernley Nevada hosting a rummage sale to help local 12 year old with rare disease

[My Fernley News]

Zoo'n Around Preschool in Fernley Nevada is hosting a rummage sale to help Liza's family with the medical costs they are now faces due to her son's rare disease. Last month he went to the Oakland children's hospital to have a tumor in the neck area of his spine removed, but a new tumor has already formed there again and in other places. These tumors eat away at the bone which caused Reese's neck to break last month. Reese is now in need of Chemo, and constant care.

So far they have received donations to raffle 2 full sets of nails, $50 towards a tattoo, gift baskets, hair cut packages, and gift cards! Hope to see everyone there!

The event is listed on Facebook if you'd like to donate an item or items.

For more information contact Evelyn Knight

Phone [phone] (zoon)     Email [e-mail]

 

You can also give a cash donation here and read more about Reese

Here are some more details from Liza:

My husband and I are blessed to have 5 beautiful children. While each is special in their own way, Reese is the child that is good at everything he tackles, from school work, sports, dancing, cooking, playing with his little sisters, to playing video games. He was the typical 12 year old boy: fun, athletic, popular, an absolute joy to be around, but all of that was taken from him on August 01, 2012.

On that day, my husband and I took Reese to the ER after a few days of intense pain in his back and neck and movement in those areas becoming more and more restricted, to the point where he was literally holding his head up with his hands.  

We arrived at the hospital at about 9:30pm and by 3:30am, my son and I were being flown to Oakland Children's Hospital due to a fracture of his Cervical 6 vertebrae. According to the ER doctor, it was not a typical break as the bone looked to have been crushed, or crumbled.My son was placed in ICU and by Thursday evening, we met with a Pediatric Neurosurgeon who informed us that the crushed bone was compressing against his spinal cord and surgery would have to be performed as soon as possible in hopes that he may not become paralyzed.

We agreed and by the next evening, Reese had a 7 hour surgery that consisted of freezing the crumbled bone and removing it in full, sawing off a piece of his hip bone to replace that C6 vertebrae and then fusing the bone in with a titanium plate to the vertebrae above and below. By the grace of God all went well with his surgery and he was released from the hospital within a few days.When we arrived home, we thought that the worst was behind us never suspecting that it had just begun. By the end of the week, we were called by a medical pathologist and were informed that a Tumor that had developed within the bone caused the bone to crumble.

The tumor was a result of a very rare disease called Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis. This disease is so rare in fact that it only affects 1 of every 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 children between the ages of 0 to 15 throughout the world. Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (LCH) occurs in patients when the body accumulates too many immature Langerhans cells, a subset of the larger family of cells known as histiocytes. A Langerhans cell is a type of white blood cell that normally helps the body fight infection. In LCH, too many Langerhans cells are produced and then build up in certain parts of the body where they can form tumors or damage organs. The cause of this disease is unknown, although many possibilities have been explored, including viruses, exposure to toxins in the environment, family history and geography. LCH is not considered a true cancer and is not caused by a known infection. It is not contagious, nor is it believed to be inherited. (histio.org)

Histiocytic disorders affect fewer than 200,000 people. It is thus considered an “orphan disease” and, as such, does not receive substantial government funding for research. 

Since diagnosed on August 14, 2012, 2 more tumors have been located in his bones including one within his left femoral bone and one reforming in the same location where the first one that caused the break to occur in the first place. The tumor in his neck is considered ‘high risk’ because of its proximity to the spinal cord and central nervous system so he is scheduled to begin Chemotherapy the first week of November 2012. The pediatric oncologist and neurosurgeon agreed that beginning the treatment before his newly replaced bone heals may reverse the healing process.