As you all may know, Declan and the McNulty family are facing some very difficult and unimaginable circumstances right now. Declan had been having hand tremors recently, which prompted a doctor’s visit last Wednesday, 8/24, followed by blood work and a CT scan. Declan mentioned that he fell off the rock climbing wall, which is why they ordered the CT scan in the first place. They are so thankful that they did, because that scan revealed a tumor on the left side of his brain. He was diagnosed with Childhood Pilocytic Astrocytoma. Pilocytic astrocytoma is the most benign and most treatable of the gliomas. The cure rate is over 90 percent!!! His doctors think It is unlikely that his tumor is malignant. 🙏🏼

Things progressed quickly after that and Declan was sent with Ryan by ambulance to Children’s Hospital in Aurora. Declan was his usual happy, silly self when they arrived, utterly shocking the doctors and surgeons. The size of the tumor should have been debilitating for him. He should have been vomiting daily, with awful migraines, and unable to walk well. But not Declan! 🦸🏻‍♂️ 💪🏼 He hasn’t experienced ANY of those symptoms, and powered through a 2 hour MRI at 4:30pm on Wednesday, without being sedated and without eating ANYTHING since breakfast! That in itself shows how strong Declan is!

The family met with Declan’s neurosurgeon and several other experts the following day, to come up with the absolute best plan to remove the tumor. They were even told that they could go home and even could return to school until the day of his surgery, because he was so high functioning! 🙏🏼

Thankfully, the neurosurgeon said that his tumor was in the best possible spot for an easy removal, and that he would only need to be in the hospital for 2-4 days after for post-op care. Then, he would just need 2 weeks of rest at home! They have the absolute BEST team and are in great hands. 🙌🏼

Declan’s surgery will be at 9:30am this Wednesday, 8/31. It will last around 4-5 hours, and I’ll be sure to update everyone on how it went on here. Since the family is uncertain on when they will get to go home, and because all kids can be picky eaters, a gift card train would be better than a food train for them.

The one positive thing that the pandemic brought us is the rise in food delivery companies! 🎉 So, thanks to companies like DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grub Hub, Amazon, Noco Nosh, and Instacart, they can choose whatever restaurant, pharmacy, or store that they may need things from and have things delivered straight to their door.

If you are a local family, another great option would be to create a care package for Declan for after surgery. He will be pretty bored at home for those 2 weeks, so whatever you think will cheer him up or keep him busy would be great! He loves anything Minecraft (toys, LEGO’s, books), anything Harry Potter or Star Wars, and the Broncos! 🏈 I’ll make sure to update everyone here with the exact date that they will be home and able to receive those card packages. Her neighbor Gaby is also available to receive those items and deliver them if you would like to drop things off sooner. You can text me (Christine Welch) at 970-222-3242 for her address or with any questions you may have.

For now, keep Declan and the McNulty’s in your prayers and send them good vibes next Wednesday. They are loved by so many of us, and we want to make sure they know that they have a village behind them. 💗
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For NoCo Nosh e-gift cards click here: https://www.noshdelivery.co/gift-certificate

✅ Marissa’s email address is [email protected] if you need it to send any e-gift cards.

For Clean Eatz e-gift cards click here: https://www.cleaneatzkitchen.com/collections/gift-cards?gclid=CjwKCAjwpKyYBhB7EiwAU2Hn2UtyWdiJs8HFoPyJ4gZbFedTzcpchCRLBdLFqhPMQcz1rkVEAEpAtRoCkboQAvD_BwE