ORANGE PARK, Fla. – Parker LaFontaine, just 22 months old, was throwing up, crying uncontrollably and losing consciousness. It was in March, when his parents called 911.
Parker's father thought the boy was showing signs of a concussion and might have hit his head.
"The things he was displaying I knew were not normal. He was being really lethargic, not responding very well," Parker's mother, Lindsay LaFontaine said.
After the 22-month-old was rushed to the hospital, doctors found the source of the problem to be a brain tumor the size of a lemon.
When Parker arrived at Orange Park Medical Center, doctors discovered something worse within minutes. He was later airlifted to Wolfson Children's Hospital. Dr. Jama Sy, medical director at OMPC's pediatric intensive care unit, said the initial CT scan displayed a brain tumor.
"We knew that right away we had to control his breathing, secure his airway and lower the pressure in his brain because we saw that he had a tumor that bled and there was significant swelling around it," Sy said.
Parker had to stay in the hospital for almost a month. He’s received cancer treatment for the past four additional months.
"It was very tough to see him like that," Parker's father, Jehoshua LaFontaine, said.
"We were in shock at this point, that whole day is a whirlwind to us,” Lindsay LaFontaine said. “We went from having two perfectly healthy children to one with -- we didn't know what it was at the time."
Parker, now home with his twin brother, Carter, will continue chemotherapy for a year and eventually get the tumor removed. The tumor has decreased from the size of a lemon to the size of a lime. A GoFundMe page set up for Parker has raised nearly $19,000 in donations.
The LaFontaines said they considered themselves lucky. If it wasn't for the doctors' quick actions, they said Parker may not alive today.
The LaFontaine family is urging other families to go with their gut feelings if they suspect something out of the ordinary.
"What's the big deal of getting an extra test just to confirm your thoughts? It may cost you a little money, but in the end if it's a piece of mind, and if you're able to catch something early, you can prevent a lot of other procedures," Jehoshua LaFontaine said.
The American Cancer Society lists the following symptoms for parents to spot child cancer:
- An unusual lump or swelling
- Unexplained paleness and loss of energy
- Easy bruising
- An ongoing pain in one area of the body
- Limping
- Unexplained fever or illness that doesn’t go away
- Frequent headaches, often with vomiting
- Sudden eye or vision changes
- Sudden unexplained weight loss