
Endless Smiles Foundation
Charlie


Charlie
At an early age, Charlie began to experience symptoms of headaches, fatigue, random vomiting in the morning, and loss of balance. Her parents took her to a pediatrician who ordered for a CT scan to be done the next day. 2 hours after the scan was complete, they received the unfortunate news: Charlie had a tumor in her brain and they would have to go to the hospital. There, she had her tumor removed and extensive MRI’s done to properly diagnose her with cancer, which they did following the surgery. The diagnosis completely changed the lives of Charlie and her family, making other issues seem much smaller in comparison.
Charlie was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma, a type of cancer commonly occurring in young children. It begins in a region known as the posterior fossa, which is located towards the back of the brain and is responsible for balance and coordination. Because of this, Charlie’s ability to walk, run, and jump have been severely affected. Additionally, she’s had to deal with symptoms common to chemotherapy (fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite, brain fog), which at an early age can be difficult to cope with. Thankfully, she has seen significant improvements after going through physical therapy. Even though she still struggles, she has been doing much better than previously when she was rendered unable to talk or play.
Along with physical therapy, Charlie has received support from many people wishing to aid her with the difficulties she has had to go through. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she hasn’t been able to receive as much support as she could have, but there have been positives as Taylor (Charlie’s mom) stated, “...we have had a lot of support through social media and fundraisers from friends and family.” Furthermore, creating an Instagram account to raise awareness for childhood cancer has helped Charlie and her family connect with others going through the same thing. Additionally, she has been given “fun care packages” from multiple nonprofit organizations to help lift her spirits during treatment.
The knowledge gained from their social media family and Charlie’s diagnosis has allowed her family to understand more about certain issues on childhood cancer, specifically about the funding allotted for research. “If Charlie was never diagnosed, I would've never known that children only get 4% of funding towards cancer research. And that fact absolutely blows my mind. I’ll never understand how that was ever decided, but what I do know is that that needs to change. These poor kids deserve more. And I’ll continue fighting more than 4 until the day it is changed” said Charlie’s mom. In the future, they will continue to push for change as they hope to better their lives and the lives of others who have been affected by pediatric cancer.
However, even after treatment, not everything returns to normal. Since the word ‘cured’ wouldn’t be appropriate for the situation, children who have recovered are known as “No Evidence for Disease,” but to reach this stage many children have to go through chemotherapy. As Charlie’s mom said, “These children will live with multiple health complications for the rest of their lives because of how awful and harsh these treatments are.” She believes that children should receive their own chemotherapy rather than “adult chemotherapy shrunken down to a child’s size” as they are still developing whereas adults are not.
Charlie’s story highlights the importance of support for children diagnosed with pediatric cancer. This support should extend to government funding as “more than 4” is necessary to provide better treatments for children. Hopefully, she will be able to recover soon but for now we should take her story as an inspiration.