Heal, Teach, Inspire Neuroblastoma is a cancer found in children, mainly infants. About 700 people in the US are diagnosed with this type of cancer every year. Researchers continue to investigate what causes this disease. In August 2019, 4 month old Ezra James went for a routine check up with his pediatrician. The doctor noticed when palpating his stomach that his liver seemed somewhat inflamed. The pediatrician said it was probably nothing but just to be safe it was recommended that he go get an ultrasound. Ezra got the ultrasound and there they discovered a 8 cm mass on his adrenal gland. Ezra was quickly scheduled for an appointment to see an oncologist where he was sent for additional testing and biopsies and it was confirmed that he was diagnosed with neuroblastoma. This is when as a parent you go into panic mode. It is our job as parents and guardians to protect our children. In this situation we have no control over what this cancer can do. At the same time you find yourself questioning yourself, asking what you did wrong as a parent for this to happen to your child. You find yourself questioning your faith asking why this is happening to an innocent child who hasn’t lived long enough on this earth to endure this condemnation. You ask yourself even with insurance, how you’re going to afford deductibles, co-pays, chemotherapy, and surgeries. How are you going to continue paying your bills on time all while still trying to provide for your family and maintain a roof over your head and food on the table. You slowly start to stray from the light and lose yourself to darkness and depression at a time when you need to be strong for your child and strong for your family. It’s very easy to lose focus on the bigger picture which is finding the best care for your child and making sure they beat this deadly disease. Since being diagnosed, Ezra has been getting routine scans and check ups every 2 weeks to monitor the tumor to make sure it doesn’t continue to grow. Some neuroblastoma tumors tend to grow and peak and then shrink and even disappear at times. In regards to Ezra’s tumor, it only continued to grow so it was advised that he have it surgically removed. This would be a high risk surgery considering how young Ezra is. His organs and vessels are still growing and there is a huge risk of hemorrhaging during surgery. The tumor at this point also started impeding on his other organs such as his liver and kidney which could ultimately cause additional complications aside from the cancer. Ezra had his surgery in November 2019 where they were able to remove the entire tumor as well as the surrounding affected lymph nodes that were exposed to these cancer cells. Since then Ezra has been home recovering and just recently had his first MRI post surgery.  We are waiting to see how we will move forward with his care. Heal- We hope that Ezra's story can reach those out there to let them know that they are not alone in this. Our children are the future and they will play just as big a part in molding and shaping the future as any other red blooded human being living on this planet. We hope his story helps to pull those families going through this out of the darkness and aspire to mend their burdened heart enough to take action. Teach- We aspire to educate those out there about this rare children’s disease. Being aware allows you to act quickly and have the common knowledge to ask question to your physicians and make suggestions in your child’s care. Inspire- We aspire to inspire family’s through Ezra's story in hopes of building stronger family ties. Neuroblastoma is most common in young children. Although this process of care and treatment will be a difficult one, the experience will make a family stronger at the end of the day as long as each of us do our part and stand our ground to fight the good fight together.