Rare cancer sends 2-year-old to Seattle
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POLSON — Thelma Mae Briney is a 28-month-old blonde sprite whose favorite food is peanut butter and honey sandwiches.
Like most 2-year-olds, she spends her time playing, running, reading books, taking off her shoes and exploring her world — until July 15, when Thelma had a slight fever and said her tummy hurt.
Parents Bradley and Mandy Briney took her to see her pediatrician, and the world as they knew it skewed.
Her doctor found Thelma had a large tumor, from her upper rib cage to her hip. She and her mom were on a plane to Seattle Children’s Hospital that same day.
Thelma is a fighter. She would not allow the airplane crew to put her on the gurney. So her mom laid down on the bed, held Thelma in her arms, and the crew strapped them in together.
Thelma’s dad and granddad, Bradley and Paul Briney, drove to Seattle to be with Thelma.
On July 16 Thelma had an MRI followed by surgery on July 17. Her surgeon removed the large tumor and also a kidney from the 21-pound tot.
“The scar is probably 10 inches. It’s humongous,” Cathy Briney, Thelma’s grandmother said.
Paul said it was hard to explain to small Thelma that she couldn’t eat or drink for a day or two after surgery.
Thelma’s diagnosis is clear cell sarcoma of the kidney, an extremely rare type of cancer, especially for girls. The cancer has a tendency to metastasize to bones or to other organs, as it has to Thelma’s lungs. She will also need to be followed throughout her life to make sure there’s not a reoccurrence.
“But the only real good news I had when I was out there was the cancer was not in the bones and not in the brain,” Paul said.
Thelma’s team of doctors is treating her disease with radiation and chemotherapy, which has already begun. She has small blue tattoos on her chest so her oncologist can line up the radiation precisely.
Her parents will stay with her in Seattle for the next six to eight months. Sometimes her older brother Elliott, 4, can also be with the family. They are staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Seattle, where Thelma will join them when she is released from the hospital. She needs to be close to Seattle Children’s so she can receive chemo and radiation.
Mandy took a leave from her job as a second grade teacher in Kalispell, and Bradley has stepped away from his painting business so the family’s income has stopped. Bradley graduated from Polson High School in 1991, and Paul and Cathy have lived in Polson since 1987. Cathy teaches at Pablo Elementary School, and Paul teaches history at Polson High School.
To help Thelma and her family, an account has been set up at Wells Fargo Bank called The Thelma Mae Support Fund. For folks who’d like to help the family out, checks can be sent to Wells Fargo Bank, 1800 South Russell, Missoula, MT 59801 or to 215 Second Ave. E, Kalispell, MT 59901 or to any Wells Fargo Bank as long as they specify the Thelma Mae Support Fund.
For updates on Thelma’s condition, go to Thelma Mae Briney at CaringBridge.org or her gofundme site at http://www.gofundme.com/PrayforThelmaMae
And as Cathy says, “Please continue to pray for Thelma Mae.”
