Waiting is the hardest part

Danette Goulet

What was once a simple, daily chore for a 9-year-old girl has become

Brianna Olympius’ ultimate goal.

“I really want to go back to school,” said Brianna, wearing bright

purple silk pajamas with her hair pulled back in two pigtails, exposing a

four-inch row of stitches down the back of her skull.

Just two weeks ago, the Newport Heights Elementary fourth-grader was

diagnosed with a brain tumor. Although benign, the tumor had woven itself

into her brain stem, disturbing her facial features and mobile skills and

threatening her life. Doctors estimated that she had anywhere from two

weeks to a year to live.

Last week, she underwent a seven-hour surgery in which approximately

90% of the tumor was removed.

As she sat in her Costa Mesa apartment Monday, surrounded by handmade

banners, get-well cards and bunches of balloons and flowers, her recovery

appeared imminent.

Her mother, Suzi Olympius, says she’s gaining energy and strength

every day.

She can walk a bit by holding on to her mother’s hand or propping

herself up on one side. Her motor skills are improving and her sagging

left cheek has become less pronounced.

And she’s practicing her handwriting -- something she said she needs

to relearn -- and working on school assignments to keep up with her

classmates.

“I’m glad my sister’s home,” said her brother, Brandon. “I’m so happy.

It was kind of weird without her here.”

But when doctors studied the tumor after the surgery, they found it

was not a slow-growing tumor as they had believed, but a fast-growing

one.

While the doctors have returned Brianna to the comfort of her home to

begin receiving visitors, her mother has started making the rounds with

physicians again.

With the speed at which doctors believe the tumor is growing, gamma

knife radiosurgery -- which they had previously considered using to

remove the remains of the tumor -- may no longer be a viable option,

Olympius said.

A gamma knife is a noninvasive tool that administers low-level gamma

radiation. Unlike conventional radiation therapy, which must be delivered

in small amounts over time, the gamma knife can usually remove the

remaining portion of a tumor in less than an hour.

With that option fading, the family may have to consider the harsher

options of chemotherapy and radiation.

Brianna and her mother returned to the Childrens Hospital of Orange

County on Tuesday to meet with neurosurgeons and discuss the next step.

While the prognosis is more grim than doctors had hoped, the family

will continue to search for a way to help Brianna win her battle.

FYI

For information on how you can help, call Teri Carano at (949)

642-1189.

Donations can be sent to Brianna Olympius Donations, c/o Ron Searcy,

300 E. 15th St., Newport Beach 92663.