At the ends of Anna's 6th grade year in school, within a period of just a couple of weeks, she suddenly went completely deaf in her right ear. We also noticed that her smile seemed a little crooked. After a rushed trip to her pediatrician and a pediatric neurologist at Egleston, Anna was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. That was June 9, 2003. Since then Anna has had quite a journey.

She has suffered more losses than any child should ever have to:

- She is almost completely deaf now. She lost her hearing in her other ear due to chemo, and problems with processing caused by a case of shingles.
- She has been separated from friends by illness, by silence in her new, deaf world, by distance (we've moved to accommodate her school needs and to get her closer to the hospital), and by missing school and the social life that comes with it.
- Prior to cancer, Anna had a very mild case of scoliosis which we just watched and x-rayed every year at her checkups. But due to radiation, she now has a 45 degree curve in her spine and has to sleep in a brace every night that is very painful. It corrects her curve to zero, but only for the night. It keeps her curve from getting worse, but only surgery can correct it permanently.
- She has no feeling on the right side of her face. Because of that, she doesn't blink with her right eye and she developed a corneal ulcer, then a corneal scar. Her sight is now very limited in that eye.
- As with many brain tumor kids, Anna's balance is a huge issue for her. She has trouble walking and maintaining her balance.
- She has nerve pain in her right eye, in spite of the fact that she has no feeling there. Her doctor does her best to minimize it with medication.
- Her body has lost its ability to regulate temperature on one side, so one side of her body is always extremely cold.
- Anna has lost her ability to swallow and speak due to her tumor and surgery, but miraculously got both of those things back! We fed her at home through a tube for a year and one day (the last day of her Make-A-Wish trip) she just started eating. When she needed me, she would ring a bell because she couldn't speak. We had bells everywhere in the house so she could always call me, but the vocal cord that works has now moved over to vibrate off of the paralyzed one to compensate and she can speak again!
- Her fine motor skills have suffered, especially on her right side, and she's learning everything left-handed.

In spite of it all, Anna has stayed on grade level in school and has made almost all "A"s. Last year she even attended the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf, not knowing any sign language, and she still finished last year with all "A"s and one "B"! We were very proud of her! Next year though, she will start yet another new school. She is going to the public school in Atlanta near our new home, Lakeside High School.

In addition, Anna has continued to work on her own fund-raising efforts with Anna's Angel Fund and has now raised over $75,000 for the other families in Georgia who have also been fighting pediatric cancer. We think she's a pretty amazing school. The only reason we still have our precious girl though, is because of the power of prayer, and because of the awesome care she as gotten at CHOA. We feel so very blessed to be in Atlanta and truly believe that we might not have Anna today if it weren't for CHOA and a couple of miracle so graciously granted to us. There are no better doctors anywhere. For me to be comfortable putting the life of my only child in their hands is saying a lot – and I wouldn't want her to be anywhere else. The neurologist, who diagnosed her, Dr. Krawiecki, is still one of the dearest people in the world to us. Her neuro-oncologist, Dr. Janss is the most awesome, amazing woman we've ever met. The nurses have become some of our closest friends and still come to our home to get Anna and take her out on "dates." What a special place, full of special people. Walking in the hospital is like walking into a big, much-needed hug for us. We are so blessed to have CHOA here in Atlanta.