Those tiny toddler tushies take a lot of abuse when children are first learning to walk, an accomplishment gleefully celebrated by children and their parents.
But when little Orionite Mark Bejjani took his first steps, the milestone also came with a heavy burden for his small legs: the discovery of a grapefruit-sized malignant tumor in his brain.
After three lengthy surgeries in two weeks, Mark’s family ? parents, George and Rita, and three-year-old brother, Michael ? sent him to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN.
Mark is there now with his mom, undergoing treatments, while George and Michael remain in Lake Orion.
Feb. 22, friends and family of the Bejjani family are holding a fundraiser to help reunite the family in Tennessee. Proceeds will go to the Georgio Bejjani Cancer Fund, and will allow the family to continue paying bills in LO while living together in Memphis.
Tickets for dinner, entertainment, 50/50 raffle, live auction and cash bar at Lelli’s (at Opdyke and Featherstone in Auburn Hills) are $50. Family friend Karriann Conklin can be reached at 248-820-1378 for more information.
According to Conklin, the Bejjanis first thought something was amiss when the family noticed Mark dragging his leg and limping.
‘They obviously knew something was wrong, but they thought something was wrong with his leg,? she said.
So the family took Mark, then 21 months, in for X-rays, an MRI and a CAT-scan of his leg.
‘But there was nothing wrong with his leg,? said his father. ‘They said he might have had a stroke, so they did an MRI of his head.?
During the test, doctors found no evidence of a stroke. What they did find was a 10-by-7 inch primitive neuroectodermal tumor ? or PNET. According to George, only one in 250,000 people are diagnosed with it.
‘First, they just thought something was wrong with his leg, and then the doctor looks at him and says, ‘no, he had a stroke,? and now he has a brain tumor,? Karriann, noting that the family reeled from news that went from bad to worse.
Initially, Mark had a marginal chance of survival, says his family, but with the tumor removed and chemotherapy in the works, his chances have improved to around 50 percent.
‘I always felt like I could give my kids anything they want. And this was the first time I had this fear ? I can’t do anything for them,? George said. ‘I was seeing my kid die in front of me. I was never expecting it. I was shocked.?
He added, ‘There is God, and only He can save him. We can do nothing. Everybody thinks they can do anything for their kids, but in this situation, you can’t. It’s up to Him.?
Doctors believe Mark was born with the tumor, which, by December 2009, had pushed all of his left brain to the right. Though the Bejjanis didn’t immediately notice other symptoms, doctors said the tumor affected the entire right side of the body.
‘We never knew he couldn’t see with his right eye because it acted normal,? said George of his son’s sightless eye, caused by the tumor. ‘Now, he’s getting better with his hand and foot. With the eye, doctors don’t know, yet. He may never see on the right side.?
Mark’s father says he’s a fighter.
According to his family, doctors predicted that Mark would be weak, ‘he never was,? said George. They said he would sleep deeply and waking him up would be hard, ‘it never happened,? he added. They said he should not be walking, ‘he’s hyper and walks all the time.? Doctors said he’d be out for 24 hours after the first opera