Four-year-old Brooke Healey, and her parents Steve and Stefanie Healey, need our help. Stefanie is Don Elefante’s niece of ZitaMaria Footwear and cousins with Lisa & Francesco Cavallini (Emilio Cavallini) whose products have been featured in “Whom You Know”
Brooke has been diagnosed with a brain tumor called a Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Giloma (DIPG). This has been confirmed with a CT scan as well as an MR scan by 6 different neuro oncologists and 7 different pediatric neuro surgeons. The DIPG itself has a 98% fatality rate. The DIPG is in the pons sack, which is located at the brain stem and controls all vital organs and even consciousness. In every attempt to operate and remove all or part of the tumor, there has been 0% that have survived the surgery. While radiation will help alleviate Brooke’s discomfort on a short-term basis, survival past 12 to 14 months is uncommon.
On Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, Dr. Mark M. Souweidane at Cornell Medical Center performed a biopsy on the tumor, a dangerous procedure under any circumstance, to determine the grade of the tumor. In a journal on Caring Bridge that the family is updating regarding Brooke’s ordeal, Steve Healy wrote, “It was a tough enough decision to go ahead with the surgery against the advice of many doctors and with the advice of doctors we had the most faith in. But to carry out the decision was pure torture. Not knowing if my baby would ever walk again or have some other kind of ailment or even worse because of our decision to move forward was the most gut wrenching experience I have fathomed in my life.”
The Healey family will be forced to seek alternative approaches to fight this battle on behalf of Brooke and will incur lofty medical expenses along the way. Since there is no clinically tested method of treating this tumor, other than the short term effects of radiation, insurance will not cover most of the costs of any treatments beyond radiation therapy.
In an attempt to find an answer for their daughter, the family will have to explore clinical trials and possibly look outside the United States. In either scenario, travel and medical expenses are estimated to build upwards of $200,000 or more.
“THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, for all your support and prayers. It really helps......but keep it coming!” Steve concluded.
Stefani and Steve are some of the most generous and kind families in New Providence. They consistently give back to the New Providence community and never ask anything in return. They are salt of the earth people and represent the very best of New Providence.
Friends of the Healeys have formed a fundraising committee to help defray medical expenses as well as help support the family financially while both parents tend to Brooke’s care. A March 16th fundraising event is being planned at the Grand Summit Hotel in Summit, NJ.
A fund has also been set up for Brooke through The Heartworks Organization. 100% of the donations will go directly to the family. Visit www.njheartworks.org to make your donation online. Please be sure to put in the note section Brooke Healey. To mail a check, email bbratz@optonline.net.
