This news is probably just as much a shock for you if you're just hearing this as it still is for us to process. We created this page to keep you all informed. As many of you know Chase has struggled over the last few years with his weight. He has made tremendous strides in the past few months to shed over 40lbs! We are so very proud of him for never giving up! Throughout all of that he's had some things that we noticed but always thought were related to something else going on at the time. He has had a wide stance walk with a limp for the past few years which we thought was related to his weight and history of 2 fractures of the right ankle. He was diagnosed with sleep apnea with both obstructive and central apneic episodes in the past 2 years (followed by pulm, they only ever were concerned with the obstructive). He is treated/followed for anxiety/depression and ADHD so there have been some struggles in school which he has had a 504 plan in place to support him. Over the summer we noticed he started falling face first and not being able to catch himself. It wasn't frequent but a good handful of times overall. Then he was hospitalized twice in the fall of 2024 for pneumonia. He unfortunately suffered a concussion during his football season in between the hospitalizations for pneumonia so his football season was cut short. We started noticing over time he wasn't able to grab things "normally" with his hands when putting on sweatshirts or holding bottles. Fast forward to beginning of March 2025, he was really struggling in his schoolwork. Assignments were missing and classwork was left empty for unknown reasons. We worked with him to get all caught up and during that we noticed some abnormal eye movements when looking side to side. We also noticed how bad his fingers had started to curve inward limiting his finger-thumb dexterity. We were however very excited as he was all set to start his rugby season, freshly down the 40lbs. He went to his first practice only to make about 15 min. While during warmups his leg gave out causing him to fall. He was able to be calmed down and was about to return to try to give it another shot but when he turned to go back out, he fell face first. This ended the practice, and we took him home. It was then that the dots started connecting that something was wrong neurologically. We spoke with our family chiropractor about our concerns, and he agreed to evaluate Chase the next day. His assessment raised some red flags for some upper motor neuron issues. We had a pending PT eval set up through a local hospital, but it wasn't until the end of the month. The chiropractor was able to set us up with another local PT group the next week who also evaluated him and was highly concerned based on his assessment. We also were seen by CHOP Pulmonology where we ruled out Narcolepsy and received a referral to Neurology (which is booked out 8 months!). Our chiropractor saw us back the following week to continue his assessment and ordered an MRI of the brain to start the work up. We had the MRI done on the evening of 3/18 - started out as without contrast. After a little while of him being back the staff came out to inform us that they sent off the images they had so far to the radiologist, and he is requesting to complete the remainder with contrast which required an IV. Right away - we knew they found something. The rest of the MRI went ok, and we went home to wait for the results. Chase knew something was off and asked us to be honest with him with it all. The following morning at 0600 we read the results of the MRI on his MyChart portal. They found a brain tumor in his brain stem that extended into his cervical spinal cord. Chase found out that same time as he had just woken up for school. Emotional is not the word. We immediately notified our chiropractor. We started to coordinate next steps while also feeling the rawness of the situation. With the help from an amazing friend, our results were read by the neuro radiologist and expedited down to CHOP and we were placed on their ED arrival board pending our arrival. We called our PCP in the midst of it all trying to figure out what to do next and she had seen the ball was started so she took the next steps to contact Neurosurgery at CHOP and they were already reviewing the results and were aware of his case before our arrival. We left for CHOP ED as soon as the younger two left for school that morning. We made it down there and were placed in a room and greeted by the ED physician Dr. House who was amazing. We met the Neurosurgery NP Danielle who was amazing and tried to calm our nerves and explain what was found on the MRI. We met with Dr. Garcia - his Neuro-Oncologist. and he was admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit to await surgery scheduled for the next day. He had an MRI done late that evening to look at the rest of his spine as the brain MRI cut off the end of the tumor, so they weren't sure how far it extended down or if there were any other tumors in his spine. Thankfully we got the news the next day that the tumor stops at the level of his mid C3 vertebra. He went in for a cervical laminectomy w/ tumor biopsy performed by Dr. Madsen on 3/20/25 and while they were concerned for airway issues and possible new deficits or worsening existing deficits from manipulation of his brainstem and spinal cord - he did AMAZING. PRAISE GOD!!! He was moving his head/neck the same day of surgery. He had some visual issues that resolved within 24 hours. He was up walking around the same day. He spent 24 hours after surgery in PICU. We received the news rather suddenly (as they told us to not expect biopsy results until the following week) that they had the name of the type of tumor he has. Low Grade Glial/Glioneuronal Tumor What this means: Slow growing, NOT aggressive We are told this is a common type of tumor they see that does have treatment options and usually with good prognosis. Our lungs filled with air and our hearts filled with hope immediately. Our initial prayers were answered that God was not taking our sweet, sweet boy from us to the worst-case scenario that the MRI results were predicting. Majority of our questions are still left unanswered as we wait for the molecular/genetic testing results of the tumor type which they felt they could wait for before he needed to start treatment. He was discharged home on Saturday 3/22/25. He recouped at home all week. He started back at PT which he will continue with. He will also start OT in mid-April and also through school once he returns. We are working with the school district to navigate this with them. On Wednesday 3/26/25, we had a swift change in plans that the Neuro-Oncology department reviewed his case together and as a whole, they are in agreement that they do not feel he can wait for the results to start treatment as the location of the tumor is already causing some concerning symptoms. So... he now begins the fight on Tuesday 4/1/25. He will begin Chemotherapy to beat this cancer. Please Please Please PRAY for him for strength and resilience throughout this fight. Courage to keep going when he gets scared. And Comfort to know God has him wrapped in His arms throughout this all. We ask that God heals Chase from this all! Please pray for his team of doctors as they decide how to treat this and all the next steps that come along the way. Please pray for Nathan (aware of all of it) and Peyton (not currently aware) as they fear for their brother's health, the sudden change to family functions/emotions, that they feel and know God's comfort throughout all of this. Please pray for CJ and I for that we always trust in God's plan for all of this. That we too feel his comfort and not get lost in our pain, fear, or anxiety of the situation.