Gabrielle was born with eye cancer. We are from Kansas and were told we needed to fly to Philadelphia, PA. We were told the news on a Thursday (October 30, 2008) and had our flight Sunday. We stayed in Philly for a week. Gabby had her first exam with Dr. Shields at Wills Eye on Monday, November 3, 2008. We found out that she had a tumor in her left eye that was taking up 80% of her eye and many tumors in her right eye. They told us she would have a 50/50 chance of keeping her left eye and a 95% chance of keeping the right eye. Gabby started chemotherapy at 5 weeks of age for 6 months.
 
By 8 months of age she had already finished chemo and we thought things were going well. On our June 2009 trip she had her exam under anesthesia and the cancer had come back badly in her left eye. On June 4, 2009 Gabby’s eye was removed. We still fly back and forth to Philly every 3 to 6 months for her check ups. We also have check ups here at home in Kansas. Gabby got her first eye prosthesis on August 10, 2009 and she has been doing pretty well. She also has glasses to protect her one good eye. Gabby has been in remission now for 8 months. She is a beautiful, energetic almost 2-year-old.
 
Written by Shara Palacio, Gabrielle’s Mom
07/10