Evalynn Grace's Cancer Battle Fund

My name is Wendy Pinkerton.  It is with a very heavy heart that I reach out to friends, family and anyone who is able to spare a donation to help a beautiful young family in need.  The devastating tragedy of childhood cancers has touched me before with a dear friend, and now it has reared its ugly head again with my niece, Vanessa Landon-Weber.  She and her wonderful and hard working husband Jesse, and their energetic 5 year old son Matthew, are facing the recent heart wrenching news that their 13 month old baby girl, Evalynn Grace, is suffering from Retinoblastoma, a rare form of childhood cancer.  Below I have included a brief history from her mommy about the symptoms that led to little Evalynn's diagnosis, and the tremendous obstacles she and her family are facing in their long battle ahead.   

When Evalynn was a little over 9 months old I began to notice there was something going on with her right eye.  I didn't think too much about it as no one else seemed to notice.  Her right eye appeared to drift out slightly when she was looking at something at a distance, or when she was very tired or daydreaming.  Others close to her such as grandparents and daycare workers began to notice, but again, everyone assumed it was something common like a weak muscle causing a "lazy eye".   It was something I was still worried about, though, and brought it up to her pediatrician at her 12 month well baby visit.  They showed a bit of concern suggesting it could possibly be a muscle problem or that she possibly needed glasses.  The pediatrician referred us to a pediatric ophthalmologist in Saginaw, a little over an hour drive away from home.  
At this appointment, the doctor struggled my feisty little 12 month old baby to look into her partially dilated eye.  The doctor indicated that he believed he was seeing a "white mass" on her retina, and could only confirm it was not a muscle issue as we originally assumed it would be. He gave us an urgent and immediate referral to the University of Michigan's Kellogg Eye Center in Ann Arbor.   We made the 3 hour drive to the Kellogg Eye Center just two days later.  At Kellogg they did another exam with Evalynn's eyes fully dilated, and this doctor also confirmed that there was a white mass and informed us that Evalynn likely had little to no vision in her right eye due to her retina being almost fully detached.  

Following this discovery, the ophthalmologist wanted to get a better look under anesthesia, and so Evalynn was then scheduled for another appointment a couple days later to see a team of an ophthalmologist and an ocular oncologist at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor.   Again, we made the long drive to Ann Arbor, and at this appointment, my baby was put under anesthesia to undergo an eye exam and an MRI.  It was at this time, on June 23, 2016, my precious 13 month old baby girl, Evalynn Grace, was officially diagnosed with Retinoblastoma, a rare form of childhood cancer, in her right eye, unfortunately full of several tumors.
Evalynn Grace Prayer Page The doctors, while she was still under the anesthesia, proceeded to do a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy, along with a spinal tap to determine whether or not the cancer was contained in her right eye, or if it had traveled elsewhere in her tiny body.   At the time of this writing, we do not know the results of those tests, but the doctors seemed hopeful that the cancer had not gone further than the right eye, and we are praying this is the case.  

We are now beginning the long scary journey of our sweet baby battling cancer.  She is already scheduled with 4 upcoming appointments in the next couple weeks at U of M in Ann Arbor, including her first chemotherapy treatment, which will take place July 1st.  These trips are 3 hour drives each way, and at times will require us to stay overnight in the area to make early morning appointments possible.  Unfortunately, she also suffers from carsickness, so these trips are even harder on her.  



As of June 22, I am no longer working.   It was just best for our family to have me home with our son and daughter, especially with our third child due soon, in late August. 

The cost of medical bills, travel, food while away, hotel rooms, etc. is going to be astronomical.  Any donations to help us get through this journey and help our baby girl kick cancer's butt, would be greatly appreciated and we would be forever grateful.
~ The Weber Family