A North Country family has received news that no parent ever wants to hear, that their child is sick with an inoperable tumor.
The Musto family, originally from Brownville, received the news that their 5-year-old daughter Madeline (Maddie) was diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), a rare inoperable tumor in her brain stem that affects children from the age 5 to 10.
An outpouring of support has hit social media network Facebook, with hundreds of friends, family and members of the North Country community joining together to help raise money for the family, and to show Maddie that she and her family are not alone.
In a recent post on Kidograhpy by Dania, Maddie’s father Matt Musto writes:
“Madeline’s tumor is in her brain stem and it is not a tumor you would normally think of where it is a nice clean ball that could be removed. Madeline’s is more like a 3-dimentional spider web in her brain stem so there is no way to remove it without removing her brain stem which is the most primitive part of the brain controlling everything from her heartbeat and temperature regulation to her ability to move.
Traditional chemo which ‘dumbly’ floods the body does not touch this kind of cancer. Radiation can slow it but has never been known to cure it and the process for only extending her life a couple weeks would be to put her under general anesthesia every day and we are struggling with making her live her life in a hospital and unconscious half of every day instead of enjoying it for no real gain.
But we are not giving up hope. I believe in miracles and I believe in the ability of brilliant people to come up with solutions to problems. We have put people on the moon, we brought Apollo 13 back and we have cured everything from small pox and polio to other kinds of cancer which went from a 0% survival rate just a few decades ago to 95% now.”
As the North Country follows Maddie’s story, multiple benefits and fundraisers have been scheduled throughout the Watertown and Brownville area.
This Friday, February 10th, a benefit will be held at Walsh’s Pub and Grill, located in Brownville, starting at 8 p.m. until 2 a.m. Donations will include:
· Profits from the jukebox
· The dartboards
· The foosball table
· Touch screen games
· 100% of the tips will go to the family
· 50 cents from each bottle of beer sold from 8 p.m. to 12 p.m. will also be donated.
Other fundraising events are being scheduled at Page Fitness Athletic Club, located in Watertown, and a 5K run in March.
Anyone that is interested in contributing can make a donation by visiting miracle4maddie.bbnow.org.
Stay tuned to MyABC50.com for more information as it develops.
To learn more about Maddie Musto and upcoming benefits, CLICK HERE.
