The pediatrician recommended a CT scan to give them a better idea of what the lump really was. When the scan showed a type of tumor, mainly around Brinsley’s kidney, her parents knew that behind the healthy appearance, their little girl actually was very sick. Brinsley was sent to Geisinger’s Janet Weis Children’s Hospital, where she underwent surgery to remove the tumor and testing to determine a diagnosis. Neither yielded good news. The tumor had essentially overtaken her right kidney, which had to be removed during the surgery. Pathology reports showed that Brinsley was suffering from Stage IV neuroblastoma, a pediatric cancer that affects the sympathetic nervous system. The prognosis was not good. A patient with Stage IV neuroblastoma typically has a 25 to 30 percent chance of living beyond five years, and Brinsley would need surgery, aggressive chemotherapy and radiation to try to beat the disease. She also would have to travel to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in a cooperative effort to harvest and transplant stem cells. Plus, she would undergo all these treatments with only one kidney – another concern for doctors. “It was devastating,” Becky says. Pediatric oncologist Jagadeesh Ramdas, MD, cautioned her that while the doctors would do their best to cure Brinsley, the course would not be easy. For almost six months, Brinsley endured six cycles of intense chemotherapy – and its side effects and complications. “We were in the hospital more than we were home,” Becky remembers. “We’d be home for maybe three days and she would get a fever, and we’d go back.” The complications continued throughout the transplants and radiation, and went beyond fevers. Brinsley suffered from nephritis, a problem with her remaining kidney, which was filtering the medications. Because it was now her only kidney, there were concerns about its loss of function, and the inflammation also caused her blood pressure to rise considerably. The aggressive cancer treatments also led to cataracts and hearing loss, affecting Brinsley’s ability to both see and hear clearly. The young girl even suffered from congestive heart failure during her fight to be cancer-free. “I think I was numb for the first year,” Becky says. “But through the whole thing, Brinsley was amazing.” Bruce remembers that Brinsley even laughed when she started losing her hair from the chemotherapy – an aspect both parents thought Brinsley might have a hard time accepting. “It’s a remarkable process,” Dr. Ramdas says. “You give them so much intense treatment, and they still come back and smile at you and it makes your day.” Becky Sneidman, a certified registered nurse practitioner in the oncology department at Janet Weis Children’s Hospital, remembers that Brinsley would always make up her mind that she would deal with the difficulties and challenges that would confront her, and her parents helped her move forward with a positive attitude. “When a child is 3 years old, they look to their parents for how to respond,” Sneidman says. “Her parents always tried to be upbeat and positive, and tried to find ways to not disrupt Brinsley’s routine.” Keeping a routine was helped, in part, by the design of the children’s hospital, Sneidman says. The myriad specialists that Brinsley needed to see – from pediatric surgeons, oncologists, cardiologists and nephrologists to ophthalmologists and audiologists – were all under one roof at the children’s hospital, leaving little need for travel. The Child Life department, Becky Blair says, helped Brinsley continue to be a kid through games and crafts. And Becky was able to stay with Brinsley night and day because all in-patient rooms in Janet Weis Children’s Hospital are private and equipped with a daybed for mom and dad’s convenience. “There were times when the whole family would be in her hospital room with her,” Becky recalls. Dr. Ramdas remembers how well the Blair family functioned as a unit and, together, went through Brinsley’s treatments in a very remarkable way. Big sister Brianna even joined Brinsley for summer camp. Camp Dost, a program of the Ronald McDonald House of Danville, is a specialized summer camp for pediatric cancer patients and receives a grant from Children's Miracle Network at Geisinger. “The best part of Camp Dost is that, not only do kids participate in normal summer camp activities, but they also get to meet other kids and other siblings who have gone through the same thing,” Sneidman says. Today, Brinsley is 7 years old and is a pediatric cancer survivor. She returns to the children’s hospital for follow-up care every three months, but eventually should be able to receive her care through Janet Weis Children’s Hospital offices in Altoona or State College. She faces no restrictions, and already is thinking of being a nurse when she gets older. “This kid has done so well and was able to handle all these treatments with one kidney,” Dr. Ramdas says. “We’re all so happy and excited to see her doing so well.” | 
