Mayline John is the six-year-old daughter of Cory John and Gabrielle Thomas. She had been having headaches for two months, and in August, her mother brought her into the ER in Prince George because she had lost her eyesight and could only see black. After she collapsed at the hospital, she was given an MRI, which showed a tumour in her brain that was creating a blockage between her left and right ventricles, which was causing fluid buildup in her brain. She was flown down to BC Children's Hospital an hour after discovering the tumour. Once there, the neurosurgeon explained that the tumour was pressing on the optic nerve and was blocking the ventricles, which was allowing spinal fluid to drain out of her brain and was also pressing on the pituitary gland.
An eye test revealed that she had lost vision in her right eye.
The doctor explained that she needed to have surgery right away, which involved opening her skull to place a shunt in her brain that would travel down her neck to her stomach to allow the spinal fluid to drain in order to preserve her eyesight in her left eye. They would also be doing a biopsy on the tumour to find out whether it was cancerous. It was a risky surgery, but the surgery was successful. The biopsy results showed that it was not cancerous and it was a slow-growing tumour.
Mayine had a few setbacks while in Vancouver, one being that she had to have the shunt fixed as it had coiled in her stomach & wasn't draining properly. She also had an ultrasound & echo to monitor her heart before she started an oral treatment to shrink the tumour.
This journey has been emotionally and financially draining for her parents as they also have a two-year-old son, Ryan, who needed to be cared for while they stayed in Vancouver for seven weeks.
Mayline's prognosis is good, but the family will need to continue to make trips to Vancouver for treatments.
Thank you for supporting the family. Your support means a lot.
Sincerely, Cory, Gabrielle, Mayline, Ryan & Dominique