We Are Children's » Celebrating Althea’s Championship Win

Celebrating Althea’s Championship Win

“When we brought Althea into the hospital for surgery, she was in a wheelchair. She was not using the use of her lower limbs and was spending all day in bed, trying not to move because she was in pain. Now, she is on a softball team that just won its Division League Championships,” shares her mother, Rebecca.

Althea with Mom, Rebecca, at her Graduation

“Starting at about age 2, Althea began complaining that her back hurt, a little at first and then more frequently as she grew older. She experienced difficulties with learning to ride a bicycle and then with other things over time.

“Each time we presented Althea’s back pain and motor skill difficulties to various doctors, they would just tell me to wait it out and see if Althea adjusted herself naturally, that I needed to be more patient as a mother.

“When she entered school, she began playing sports. The more sports she played, the more complaints I received from her about her back. When she finished fourth grade, she had to stop playing sports because she was beginning to experience shooting pain going down her leg.

“We took her to an orthopedic specialist who, after performing x-rays that came up negative, shared her theory that, ‘Althea’s just trying to get out of doing sports.’ This answer didn’t make sense for Althea. We never pushed her to play sports – she pushed herself to play sports.

Althea Takes the Shot

Instructions to Come to our Hospital

“That summer, we went to New York and a relative got us in to meet with a pediatric orthopedic specialist who, after performing an MRI, found a tumor in her spinal cord that was the size of a man’s thumbnail. He explained to us that we needed to return home, and make an appointment immediately with Dr. Mark Krieger to have an operation to remove the tumor.

“To be honest, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles wasn’t as convenient for us as other medical centers closer to us. When I pressed the doctor in New York as to whether or not we absolutely had to go to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles instead of somewhere more local, he informed us that we had to go to this doctor who was at Childrens Hospital. He called Dr. Krieger for us right then to set an appointment for us in the first week of July and we scheduled surgery for August 1st.

Happy With Dr. Krieger’s Care

“We were so happy with Dr. Krieger’s care. Not only did he extract the tumor without causing any nerve damage for Althea, but even though we were instructed that this was the doctor we needed to see, he had no arrogance.

“Its obvious that he knows his stuff, but he was warm, concerned, and he understood my fears as a parent. He made Althea comfortable.

“And we are so happy that we found Dr. Krieger when we did. By the time we had the surgery, Althea was already beginning to lose significant body function. She could only walk short distances when we brought her in the appointment in early July. But by August 1st, we had to bring her into the hospital in a wheelchair.

We spent 5 days in the hospital and everyone was loving and caring. It’s not like being at another hospital. They even request that one parent stays with the child in the hospital room. I was so relieved because I didn’t want to leave my “baby” alone. It’s clear that there is a reason that the people who work at this hospital are here.

“Since then, Althea has fully recovered and sports has completely taken over her life. Her entire life is movement. When you see your child in a wheelchair, and then see them a few years later fully engaging in sports without pain, it is an amazing miracle.”