Elizabeth Woods

July 2019

Elizabeth was 22 months old at the time of her diagnosis. Symptoms had led us to fear she had Cerebral Palsy, but an MRI revealed a mass in her brain. I can still feel my knees hitting the ground when I heard the news. I was speechless.

Elizabeth had a biopsy taken from the brain tumor. The neurosurgeon was unable to get the full tumor because of the location. The procedure left her weak on her left side.

Afterward we met with a neurosurgeon, oncologist, and neurologist and they went over options with us. Surgery to remove the tumor is the last option because of the location and the impact that just a biopsy did to Elizabeth’s physical movement. Her neurosurgeon doesn’t want to take the risk of Elizabeth being permanently paralyzed from removing the tumor. The better option is chemotherapy, so Elizabeth had port placement surgery and chemo began soon after.

My husband and I want to be with Elizabeth every step of the way. We live 180 miles away from the hospital where Elizabeth gets her treatments and we have to miss a full day of work to take her to her appointments. Travel expenses keep adding up. I’m also missing work or leaving work when Elizabeth is sick.

Despite all the hardship, Elizabeth inspires us every day. She constantly has a smile on her face and allows nothing to stop her. If you saw her, you’d have no idea how much she’s gone through in her 2 years of life. It’s incredible how much thrive she has in her. 

Our family greatly appreciates all the love, support and prayers. Anything and everything helps in the long road we have ahead of us.