Emily Tong

Five-year-old Emily Tong can't remember being able to walk, but it's been her most fervent wish to do so again. Thousands of miles away from her home in Malaysia, the bright-eyed girl worked on doing just that at Mayo Clinic.

Emily is the youngest of three children who live with their parents in Bintulu, a small town on the South China Sea. She was born a healthy baby and developed normally until age 15 months, when her mother noticed her limping.

The ailment seemed to worsen. Emily's parents took her to a doctor and, after undergoing an MRI, Emily was diagnosed with having a paraspinal tumor in the thoracic area. The girl had surgery when she was 2 years old, but her symptoms didn't improve. She became paraplegic.

Relatives living in the United States told Emily's parents about Mayo Clinic and urged them to bring Emily there during a visit. The family came to Rochester in November for what they hoped would be a routine second opinion, but stayed for months after Mayo physicians discovered that a benign tumor was growing on Emily's spine and required surgery.

Mayo physicians don't know if Emily's original tumor wasn't completely removed during her surgery at age 2, or if it recurred. Regardless, their message was the same — Emily had neurofibromatosis type 2 and needed an operation.

"Of course we were very nervous," says Emily's mother, Yut Hong, via Mayo Clinic interpreter Ruth Li. "But without surgery, we were told she'd eventually be quadriplegic instead of paraplegic."

Because of the location of the tumor — on the tissue lining the spine and brain — Emily would've experienced increasingly hampered neurologic abilities if the tumor went untreated. Losing use of her arms would've been one.

A mayo neurosurgeon removed part of the tumor and referred her on for radiation to treat the remaining growth.

Radiation Oncologist Paula Schomberg, M.D., took over Emily's care after her surgery and recommended daily radiation treatments to treat the remaining tumor on her spine. Emily's radiation therapy ended in February and she flew home with her family to Malaysia shortly after.

It was an emotional parting. In her few short months in Rochester, Emily forged many friendships among Mayo staff and touched hearts of others.

"I just said to one of my coworkers, 'What are we going to do when Emily leaves?'" says Staci Eischen in January, prior to Emily's departure. "She brightens up the whole department when she comes in."

Eischen was Emily's primary physical therapist at Mayo, working on the one goal most dear to Emily — learning to walk. When Emily first arrived for physical therapy, she couldn't move her legs much at all.

First she learned to use a wheelchair — something she didn't have at home — so that her parents and brothers wouldn't need to carry her from place to place. Emily also mastered moving herself from the wheelchair to a mat.

Then Emily moved on to using a walker. Eischen hopes she'll use that around her house and elsewhere in Bintulu for short journeys.

An independent girl, Emily cheered at any improvement.
Her mother and brother, 11-year-old Dickson, remained with her during her Rochester stay, offering encouragement and comfort over the course of her treatment.

"She's just a great little girl," says Dr. Schomberg.
"She's been through a lot and yet she's always smiling and cooperative, always a sweetheart."

Emily's family marvels at her care at Mayo Clinic.
After their initial visit in early November, physicians and a social worker, Carma Willers, arranged for Emily to receive charity care at Mayo, with all treatments free of charge.

"Words can't express how much she appreciates this whole institution," Li says in translating for Emily's mother. "Everyone has been so caring and supportive, not only financially but as humanly possible in every way."

Emily's mother also notes that Mayo physicians cared for Emily in a holistic manner, referring her to specialists for symptoms related to her tumor and sending the family home with guidance for caring for Emily in the future.

Emily and brother Dickson were eager to return home for the Chinese New Year to see their older brother and father, as well as friends. Emily will likely wow everyone with her new wheelchair and ability to walk with her walker.

She'll also surely show off her ability to count from 1 to 100 in English, recite the ABCs and tell all about her favorite American food — french fries.