Just in Time

"Every day, Airick teaches me something, such as to have more patience, to believe, to be positive, and have more hope, because there's always light at the end of the tunnel," Vanessa says.

Although she says she's at peace with the situation, she admits that if she had to leave her family behind to travel with Airick to another state for proton beam therapy, that wouldn't be the case.

"I'm so joyful that the Mayo Clinic program opened just in time for my son's treatment," she says.

The Proton Beam Therapy Program opened in Rochester, Minnesota, in May 2015 and in Phoenix in March 2016. One in 5 patients is a child. Different from conventional radiation, proton beam uses pencil beam scanning to deliver concentrated radiation to the tumor while minimizing the exposure to the surrounding healthy tissue.

Airick woke up after being sedated for his last treatment, kissed his stuffed dog and hugged his mom. After 30 treatments over 42 days, Airick, his family and his care team excitedly rang the celebratory bell.

"Airick hitting his head when he fell off the couch was a miracle from God," Vanessa explains. "If he hadn't hit his head, we would've never known he even had this tumor until it was too late."