Magic Moment of the Month - September 2007
A Ride to Remember
InOctober of 2004, Anna and her family received the frightening newsthat she had craniopharyngioma – a malignant tumor growing on herbrain.Doctors were soon able to remove about 90% of the tumor butAnna remained in a coma.It took several long months, but shefinally awoke.You can only imagine how happy her family was to haveher back!Several surgeries were soon to follow including a shuntthat would relieve the pressure from her brain and the implantationof tubes to help her eat and breathe.Anna also underwent a lot oftherapy due to the damage done by the tumor.
OnceAnna was back on track, she was ready to decide on what her magicmoment would be.Upon hearing that her whole family would beable to go with her on a trip, she quickly decided on Disney World. So on a warm day in May, she and her family made the short flight toOrlando for a week filled with excitement.Anna thoroughly enjoyedher day at Sea World, especially seeing the whales and the famousClydesdale horses.Given her love of animals, Anna’s favorite parkwas the Animal Kingdom where she saw animals from all over the worldand enjoyed the ever popular “Festival of the Lion King” show. But her favorite thing of all was horseback riding at the Give Kidsthe World Village.
Anna’slife has been forever impacted by her illness, and she undergoescheckups and extensive testing on a regular basis.She has had manyobstacles to overcome; however, in many ways she’s still youraverage 13-year-old girl.Anna has just entered her eighth gradeyear of school and spends a great deal of time honing her artisticskills as a painter.She also enjoys looking after her dog, Jasmine,and her cat, Maggie, as well as getting back into riding horsesagain.
