I want to share a story with you about my youngest daughter, Treasure.
Treasure has been diagnosed with a rare type of tumor inside of her tongue.
Due to that fact that the tumor is inside of her tongue it cannot be treated
by laser. She has had 2 unsuccessful surgeries at Children’s Hospital in
Los Angeles and has been a patient there for the past 2 years.

Over the past 2-3 months Treasure's tumor has grown. She has had the
most flare-ups I have seen since being diagnosed with the tumor. The
tumor flares-up 4-5 times its normal size. It bleeds in different places; it
stretches her tongue causing her so much pain she has to take codeine.
She has choked in the middle of the night because of the tumor bleeding.
She wakes up surrounded by blood on her pillow in the morning.
It is hard for me to sleep. When I do sleep, it is a light sleep and I
wake up with every movement she makes. I worry about waking up and my
little girl being gone. She drools uncontrollably due the fact that the
tumor gets so big she cannot close her mouth. She has lost weight and is
very pale due to blood loss and not being able to eat. She has to take
steroids during these flare-ups in order to bring the tumor back down. The
steroids have weakened her immune system and have put her at risk for
infections, colds etc. The picture that you are able to view on this site is
of her tumor after being treated by steroids for 6 days. In the picture the
tumor was on its way back down.

I want to thank everyone who visits this site and who helps in our quest to
get Treasure to see Dr. Yakes in Colorado. I would like to extend a special
thank you to Cheryl Driscol and Mr. Rudd. These two people are a blessing
and have spent countless hours to make this happen for Treasure. Treasure
is the light of our family. Her spirit and personality are truly unique. She makes
laugh, keeps a light in our hearts and keeps us on our toes. I hope that our story
will not only inspire others but bring hope to those that have lost it and bring faith
to those that need it.