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Allyson's Story

Allyson's StorY

 In early 2008, Mike and Michelle Perry noticed changes in their four year old daughter, Allyson.  It seemed she was having trouble with her vision; she would hold papers and books close to her face.  Vision problems at an early age ran in Michelle’s family, so they thought a trip to the optometrist would solve the problem.  Months passed, and when her vision didn’t improve, they took Allyson to her pediatrician.  On May 2nd, 2008, any parent’s worst nightmare became a reality for the Perry’s.  Allyson was diagnosed with a large, golf ball sized brain tumor.

Allyson’s pediatrician broke the news to Michelle, who was told to immediately go to St. Francis, where they would be expecting them.

Allyson Perry in her mother's arms

Upon arrival, they were told that Allyson would need immediate surgery; her tumor had grown into one of her ventricles, blocking the flow of spinal fluid.

She had developed serious hydrocephalous and needed to have an external drain tube placed to relieve the building pressure.  That surgery was successful, but then reality sunk in.  There were no pediatric neurosurgeons in the area, and Allyson’s tumor hadn’t been diagnosed.  That began the Perry’s search to find the best hospital to take their daughter to.  They talked to neurosurgery teams in Dallas, Denver, New York, but ultimately chose to take Allyson to St Jude.  After meeting Dr. Boop, they knew they had gone to the right place.  The care and compassion they felt was overwhelming.  After a biopsy, it was found that Allyson had a pituitary macroadenoma; there are only 3 or 4 other documented cases worldwide of a child under the age of 6 having a pituitary macroadenoma the size of Allyson’s.  It was determined that surgery to resect as much as the tumor as possible was the best option to treat Allyson.  On May 20th, Dr. Boop was able to resect 90% of her tumor, which was more than they were expecting!  She lost vision in her right eye, due to the tumor cutting into her optic nerve, and will be on medication the rest of her life to replace the hormones she is missing.  The Perry’s return to St. Jude every 3-6 months for checkups. 

St Jude has been a blessing to this family.  The doctors, nurses and staff are all so wonderful and take a special interest in each child.  So many children are facing horrible diseases, and St Jude’s is a haven, where hope is not lost.  Thank you so much for your support for this unbelievably worthy cause!