Angels of Gabriel Michael Howell
Meet Gabriel Michael Howell
Gabriel has been dealing with a rare and aggressive tumor on his face since he was three months old. The doctors at Clarian North Medical Center/Riley's Hospital North have named this tumor (after the second surgery), Melanotic Neuroectodermal Tumor of Infancy. He has been under the knife over ten times. Three surgeries were conducted by Dr. Freeman, Riley Hospital (Clarian North) in Carmel, IN. The first surgery had been a removal/biopsy of the tumor, the second surgery had been an aggressive removal of the tumor (just before Christmas of 2007), and the third surgery was a deep tissue biopsy. A fourth surgery had been conducted 1-30-08 for the purpose of placing a centralized IV into Gabriel’s chest in order to administer the drugs needed for chemotherapy, and several others since. The tumor was growing at an alarming rate! The Pathology report that came out (1-24-08) officially re-diagnosed the tumor as turning into a cancerous tumor. MRI/CT tests indicated that the tumor has not spread to any other location, but was large enough that it has become a serious and life threatening concern. The tumor is/was touching his brain, sealed his left nasal passage, and had completely sealed his left eye shut. The doctors have come to the conclusion that, at the time, surgery was out of the question due to extreme risk/danger, and that chemotherapy needed to be started ASAP followed up by a surgery approximately one year from first treatment. Chemotherapy was officially started 1-30-08 at 8:00 pm EST.
Around one year later, Gabriel added to his arsenal of treatments various forms of Chemo and Radiation. Also, his single tumor had spread to 24 tumors throughout his body. The good news is as of November 9, 2009 that all of his previous tumors show that they have regressed. Even though they were still present, this was/is encouraging to know that there were clear signs of gaining ground. Unfortunately, and remaining consistent with every inch of this battle we fought thus far, good news comes bad news. There are four new tumors, the back of his head being one of them. (1) Back of his head: ½ golf-ball size (2) On his brain: pea-size (3) Hip: pea-size (4) Hip: pea-size. November 16, 2009 Brandy and I had a consultation with his Doctor and some nurses to review some treatment options. A majority of these options are Phase I treatments, meaning, they are strictly experimental. In order for us to enroll Gabriel in a Phase I treatment, we have to understand that Phase I treatments are designed for the improvement of medical science as opposed to strictly patient care. Along with these Phase I options, we also have a conventional option available. This option is a low dose Chemo, but it is for the objective of sustaining instead of curing. Thus, Brandy and I has come to the conclusion that we will go with a Phase I option that offers an opportunity to directly attack the tumors and/or cancer, using the low dose Chemo as a back up option for the just in case.
Around one year later, Gabriel added to his arsenal of treatments various forms of Chemo and Radiation. Also, his single tumor had spread to 24 tumors throughout his body. The good news is as of November 9, 2009 that all of his previous tumors show that they have regressed. Even though they were still present, this was/is encouraging to know that there were clear signs of gaining ground. Unfortunately, and remaining consistent with every inch of this battle we fought thus far, good news comes bad news. There are four new tumors, the back of his head being one of them. (1) Back of his head: ½ golf-ball size (2) On his brain: pea-size (3) Hip: pea-size (4) Hip: pea-size. November 16, 2009 Brandy and I had a consultation with his Doctor and some nurses to review some treatment options. A majority of these options are Phase I treatments, meaning, they are strictly experimental. In order for us to enroll Gabriel in a Phase I treatment, we have to understand that Phase I treatments are designed for the improvement of medical science as opposed to strictly patient care. Along with these Phase I options, we also have a conventional option available. This option is a low dose Chemo, but it is for the objective of sustaining instead of curing. Thus, Brandy and I has come to the conclusion that we will go with a Phase I option that offers an opportunity to directly attack the tumors and/or cancer, using the low dose Chemo as a back up option for the just in case.
