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April 11, 2017

Meet Peter …

At just 4 months of age, Peter’s parents noticed a slight droop to one of his eyes. His pediatrician consulted an ophthalmologist who quickly ordered a MRI and lab work. Although Peter was a thriving newborn, the doctor was concerned there could a tumor compressing the nerve to his eye.

Within a week the oncologist called: It was cancer. His family felt the world crushing in around them. Peter was diagnosed with thoracic neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer.

“We probably only heard one out of every five words the doctor from Children’s Hospital told us,” his mother recalled, “but we will never forget his optimism and hope for Peter in that initial phone call.”

At just 5 months of age, Peter underwent more than 10 hours of surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible — 95 percent of the tumor was removed with hope of no future treatment. Unfortunately, 3 months later, the tumor was back nearly double its original size. Six rounds of chemotherapy and three surgeries followed over the next six months.

Nearly 2 years old, Peter is full of love, energy and adventure — and is officially considered in remission. Throughout his life, he will continue regular follow up at the MACC Fund Center at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.

“At a time when anger, fear and anxiety dominated our lives, the staff at Children’s Hospital exuded compassion and hopefulness,” his mother said. “The staff walked side by side with us through this dark journey with guidance and strength. The level of care and professionalism is unbeatable, and we can — with insurmountable gratitude — say Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin helped to save Peter’s life.”