All-Star Greyson

One-year-old Greyson and his mom, Cynthia, were playing Pat-A-Cake when he suddenly stopped breathing for about 30 seconds. Cynthia got really scared and wondered if it was a behavioral thing and he was just holding his own breath. She called the doctor, and they were referred to a neurologist. 

A few weeks passed, and more concerning symptoms started to arise. Greyson randomly threw up watching TV at daycare, and then over the weekend, he had two episodes of staring off and stopped playing. That week, he was sitting in his high chair and brought his fist up as if he was in pain, and it seemed like he was having a seizure. Cynthia decided to take him to the ER. 

“I am a nurse,” Cynthia explained. “I constantly ask myself that if I didn’t have a nursing background, would I have taken him to the ER sooner? In the back of my mind, I was worried the symptoms may not show while we were there, and we would just be sent home.” 

The exact opposite happened. His symptoms increased in the car. He had two seizures and got sick and then had more seizures when they arrived. It took forever to be seen and when they were, nothing showed up on the CT scan or blood work. The seizures however, showed up on the EEG and the doctor ordered an MRI.

The CT scan results gave the family some relief, so they were not expecting anything serious. At the time, Cynthia was eight months pregnant with Greyson’s little brother and she explained feeling so emotional. While Greyson underwent tests and on Cynthia and Christian’s 11th wedding anniversary, Cynthia started getting contractions. She was so afraid for Greyson’s life that she suddenly didn’t feel ready for another baby. Then, they got the results from the MRI.

“The neurologist came to get us (Greyson’s dad Christian and mom Cynthia) from the waiting room. We weren’t expecting that. We held hands and, right away. I could see something wrong. They showed us the pictures, and a big white spot was on one side of his brain. I ripped the mask off my face and wailed and cried as they kept scrolling through the images. It was low-grade, but it was a big tumor. We were both crying.”

Greyson started chemotherapy treatment in California. A few months after his diagnosis, the family traveled to Boston Children’s, where they removed as much of the tumor as they could, followed by more chemotherapy combined with seizure medicine. 

Since the beginning of Greyson’s cancer journey, Cynthia has not been able to work and is taking unpaid personal leave. Christian has been taking time off to support the family as well. 

“It’s been a huge loss of income for us, and right now, I am just trying to hold onto the job as long as possible,” said Cynthia. “Insurance is great until you have to use it, then come all the out-of-pocket expenses. Everything started stacking up. Our well pump broke, which was the most expensive thing. Then it was the oven, the washing machine twice, and the garage door. It was just one thing after another.” 

Pinky Swear Foundation helped the family with an Orange Envelope. Inside the envelope, the story of our founder Mitch touched Cynthia. 

“The story made me cry, and so did seeing Mitch,” said Cynthia. “We got the gift card, which was very helpful. We went and got the baby the warm clothes he needed for going to Boston.”

The family also applied for and received an All-Star Fund payment to help with their mortgage. “It was so nice having that stress removed and knowing that we can pay for our house for another month while we focus on taking time off work while Greyson recovers,” Cynthia said. 

For now, Greyson is showing some progress each week and will have another set of scans again in March of 2024. He currently has therapy six times per week and his parents are not sure what their schedules will look like with work and daycare. 

Greyson’s biggest challenges come from the removal of the tumor from his temporal lobe. He struggles with decision-making. For example, according to his mom, if you offer him a banana, his brain will not let him decide if he wants it. 

“It is difficult to watch him struggle. He doesn’t speak very much, and he has an asymmetric gait. He has more anxiety over things that he used to love. He loves his baby brother and his cat. He has a sweet soul” Cynthia explained.

Greyson has a long road ahead, and the future is filled with uncertainty. For now, the family is doing the best they can!