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Optometrist visit uncovers brain tumor
Boy, 6, has surgery to remove it
By Cheri Carlson, VenturaCountyStar
April 8, 2005
A month before his seventh birthday, the Tripletts took their son
Tommy for an eye exam hoping to stop his endless headaches.
"I thought we were going to get him glasses," said Delinda Triplett.
She had a feeling the headaches that made Tommy bury his head in the
couch and turn the lights off weren't caused by allergies like the
doctor first thought. When he couldn't read an eye chart at his
pediatrician's office, she thought she finally had the answer.
Days later, her entire family would fill a waiting room in Los
Angeles as surgeons worked for more than five hours to remove a
tumor from Tommy's brain.
But on that day -- before her view of eye exams forever changed --
she wondered what was taking so long as she sat with her other three
children waiting for her husband, Tom, and Tommy to get done.
Then her husband stuck his head out of the exam room and said the
optometrist, Gary M. Frick, needed to talk to them.
"The way he looked at us. ... The doctor was so serious and
concerned," said Delinda Triplett, sitting in her family's Ventura
home Thursday. She knew then that something was very wrong.
On Thursday, Tommy lay next to his father on a couch as his parents
talked about the events of the past few weeks. A shadow of hair
shaded more than 50 stitches on top of his head.
Standing in the optometrist's office on March 21, Frick told them he
spotted some swelling behind their son's eyes, and a few hours later
Tommy was given an MRI. They had made it a few blocks from the
clinic where the magnetic imaging test was performed when their cell
phone rang.
Their pediatrician needed to see them right away.
The next morning they left Devon, 13, Theron, 5, and 2-year-old
Naomi with the children's grandparents in Ventura and drove Tommy to
Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles.
The MRI had revealed a tumor, called a craniopharyngioma, wrapped
around Tommy's pituitary gland. The gland, about the size of a pea,
produces the body's hormones that control growth and other
functions.
The rare type of tumor doesn't spread to other areas of the body but
can continue to grow and cause serious health problems if it isn't
removed.
On March 25, surgeons were able to remove 85 percent of Tommy's
tumor, said Tom Triplett, a sheriff's deputy stationed in Ojai. In a
few weeks, Tommy will start several weeks of radiation treatments at
Children's Hospital to attack the rest of the tumor.
The night before Tommy was admitted into Children's Hospital, his
father sent out an e-mail to family and friends asking for their
prayers.
Tom Triplett said he believes those prayers were answered. They
wound up at a hospital where teams of doctors worked to make Tommy
better, he said. On Wednesday, he got to go home and is recovering
more quickly than anyone expected.
Tommy is still weak on his right side but able to walk around. From
his perch on the couch Thursday, he said the past few weeks would
have been a lot better if there weren't any needles. He is starting
to feel a bit better.
His parents said they know this is just the beginning.
"It doesn't seem real," said Tom Triplett. "I wish I could take the
thing from him and put it on my own shoulders."
They are trying to take things one day at a time and remember the
good things that have happened.
Tommy is expected to fully recover, although that is still a long
way off, and he will likely always have to take medicine.
The love and support the family has received from their friends,
family and co-workers have been amazing, they said.
On Wednesday night, the family also received the OK from Tommy's
doctors to go ahead with a planned trip to Hawaii later this month.
Tommy smiled, revealing the space where he recently lost his two
front baby teeth, and nodded when his father asked if he would go
surfing on vacation.
Tommy will turn 7 while they're away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Boy, 6, has surgery to remove it
By Cheri Carlson, VenturaCountyStar
April 8, 2005
A month before his seventh birthday, the Tripletts took their son
Tommy for an eye exam hoping to stop his endless headaches.
"I thought we were going to get him glasses," said Delinda Triplett.
She had a feeling the headaches that made Tommy bury his head in the
couch and turn the lights off weren't caused by allergies like the
doctor first thought. When he couldn't read an eye chart at his
pediatrician's office, she thought she finally had the answer.
Days later, her entire family would fill a waiting room in Los
Angeles as surgeons worked for more than five hours to remove a
tumor from Tommy's brain.
But on that day -- before her view of eye exams forever changed --
she wondered what was taking so long as she sat with her other three
children waiting for her husband, Tom, and Tommy to get done.
Then her husband stuck his head out of the exam room and said the
optometrist, Gary M. Frick, needed to talk to them.
"The way he looked at us. ... The doctor was so serious and
concerned," said Delinda Triplett, sitting in her family's Ventura
home Thursday. She knew then that something was very wrong.
On Thursday, Tommy lay next to his father on a couch as his parents
talked about the events of the past few weeks. A shadow of hair
shaded more than 50 stitches on top of his head.
Standing in the optometrist's office on March 21, Frick told them he
spotted some swelling behind their son's eyes, and a few hours later
Tommy was given an MRI. They had made it a few blocks from the
clinic where the magnetic imaging test was performed when their cell
phone rang.
Their pediatrician needed to see them right away.
The next morning they left Devon, 13, Theron, 5, and 2-year-old
Naomi with the children's grandparents in Ventura and drove Tommy to
Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles.
The MRI had revealed a tumor, called a craniopharyngioma, wrapped
around Tommy's pituitary gland. The gland, about the size of a pea,
produces the body's hormones that control growth and other
functions.
The rare type of tumor doesn't spread to other areas of the body but
can continue to grow and cause serious health problems if it isn't
removed.
On March 25, surgeons were able to remove 85 percent of Tommy's
tumor, said Tom Triplett, a sheriff's deputy stationed in Ojai. In a
few weeks, Tommy will start several weeks of radiation treatments at
Children's Hospital to attack the rest of the tumor.
The night before Tommy was admitted into Children's Hospital, his
father sent out an e-mail to family and friends asking for their
prayers.
Tom Triplett said he believes those prayers were answered. They
wound up at a hospital where teams of doctors worked to make Tommy
better, he said. On Wednesday, he got to go home and is recovering
more quickly than anyone expected.
Tommy is still weak on his right side but able to walk around. From
his perch on the couch Thursday, he said the past few weeks would
have been a lot better if there weren't any needles. He is starting
to feel a bit better.
His parents said they know this is just the beginning.
"It doesn't seem real," said Tom Triplett. "I wish I could take the
thing from him and put it on my own shoulders."
They are trying to take things one day at a time and remember the
good things that have happened.
Tommy is expected to fully recover, although that is still a long
way off, and he will likely always have to take medicine.
The love and support the family has received from their friends,
family and co-workers have been amazing, they said.
On Wednesday night, the family also received the OK from Tommy's
doctors to go ahead with a planned trip to Hawaii later this month.
Tommy smiled, revealing the space where he recently lost his two
front baby teeth, and nodded when his father asked if he would go
surfing on vacation.
Tommy will turn 7 while they're away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
