Special visit brightens youth's cancer treatment

A young cancer patient got a special visitor Tuesday as she undergoes chemotherapy following diagnosis and surgery to remove a brain tumor last month.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson surprised Ashley Okert, 2, and her family with a visit at Seattle Children’s Hospital where the toddler has been undergoing chemotherapy since late November. The toddler is the daughter of former Priest River resident Shaina (Oakes) and Russell Okert of Tacoma, and still has family in North Idaho.

“It definitely helped to lift our spirits during this difficult time,” Shaina Okert told the Daily Bee in a text following the visit. “It helped us forget, for just a moment, that we are in this situation.”

Ashley underwent surgery at Mary Bridge Hospital in Tacoma shortly after being diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a type of brain tumor. Shaina Okert said on a GoFundMe page that the toddler had been throwing up several times a day for a month, losing weight as well as being lethargic and exhibited weakness when walking, prompting numeous doctor’s and hospital visits until the Nov. 12 diagnosis.

“He advised us it will be a long road ahead of us and we can only pray for success … Please keep Ashley in your hopes and prayers as we need as much positivity as we can get! this is already a hard journey and I know it will not get any easier as we go,” she wrote in a post on GoFundMe.

While the toddler underwent surgery on Nov.13, Okert said the family was warned Ashley had traces of the tumor in her neck and spine and he may not be able to remove them, necessitating the need for chemotherapy. Because of her age, she can’t undergo radiation for a another year when she turns 3. Following surgery, she said the doctor told them he was confident he was able to remove the tumor.

Ashley has begun chemotherapy as well physical therapy to begin walking again. Following tests to determine the type of cancer, which has a 70-80% survival rate with treatment, a treatment plan was crafted by Ashley’s doctors and the hospital’s tumor board.

Because Ashley is under 2 1/2, she does not qualify for any experimental medications and because she is under 3 they want to put off radiation as long as possible, Okert said in a post.

Ashley began her first round of chemotherapy on Nov. 29, with the first three weeks taking place at Seattle Children’s. A second and third round will follow at Mary Bridge for six weeks. The family will then head back to Seattle Children’s for 12 weeks of stem cell transplants followed by a two-week break and six weeks of radiation.

“It’s going to be a long hard road ahead for Ashley and the rest of the family,” Shaina Okert wrote in a Nov. 23 post. “Please keep praying for this cancer to go away!”

According to St. Jude’s Hospital on its website, medulloblastoma is a cancerous tumor — also called cerebellar primitive neuroectodermal tumor — that starts in the region of the brain at the base of the skull. These tumors, which tend to spread to other parts of the brain and to the spinal cord, are the most common malignant brain tumor of childhood.

Medullobastomas accounts for about 20 percent of all childhood brain tumors with between 250-500 children in the United States being diagnosed each year, according to St. Jude’s.

The family has received $3,055 toward its $10,000 goal on gofundme.com. To donate to the GoFundMe account, go online to http://bit.ly/35a1kGN .

Caroline Lobsinger can be reached by email at clobsinger@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @CarolDailyBee.