“Lukas had 30 radiation treatments,” starts Irene Rosenbaum (Strouzas) after arriving back in Australia from America where her son received much-needed treatment on the rare form of brain tumor called medulloblastoma. Hard to imagine a four-year-old going through that, especially just before Christmas”
These involved going under a general anaesthetic every day. He tolerated the treatment quite well, had some nausea and vomiting the first few days, needed four blood transfusions over the six weeks, lost his hair again but over all remained happy and full of energy.”
But through this pain was a shimmer of hope for the family.
“We were lucky that he was well enough that we could explore the city of Houston and he was extremely happy that there was a mini-train driving around the park that was directly across the road from our apartment, we rode on this many many times.”
“He has an MRI scan at the end of January which will assess how things are looking but that will not necessarily tell us if the treatment was successful or not. It is just a waiting game where he will undergo scans and tests every three months for the next couple of years to see how things are. At the moment there is no further treatment planned for him unless things appear worse.”
The family hope their little battler will start kindergarten next year. But for now, they want to ensure their little boy has the best Christmas after what has been an incredibly trying year for all, and a fight for life for little Lukas.
“Please thank all of the readers for us, and to anyone who made a donation or supported us in any way,” says an incredibly grateful Irene.
“We are greatly humbled and appreciative of it all. They have allowed us to get the best available current treatment for our son and we will forever be grateful for that.”