thought was caused by his eyes. She
took him to his ophthalmologist, who
dilated his pupils, and thought the
headaches were caused by sinus prob-
lems.
She took Bryan to his pediatrician
right after the ophthalmologist, and
they weren't suspicious until Donna's
34th birthday.
After she cashed in on a free car
c wash, Bryan got sick in his mother's
clean car.
"Bryan was never sick," Donna said.
"If he had to throw up, he always did it
) in the bathroom. I knew something was
wrong."
The pediatrician was alarmed when
Bryan vomited and screamed that his
head "felt like it would fall off."
vk ,k,s, Akk-
chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
Bryan continued to go to school
through all the treatments. He was in
kindergarten at the time, and wanted to
be with other children.
"All the kids liked him and took care
of him," Donna said. "If he was sick
and didn't want to be there, I'd come
get him. If he wanted to be there, he
would stay."
For show-and-tell at school, Bryan
brought in the CAT scan of the tumor,
and he pulled out some of his hair to
demonstrate how easy it came out.
In second grade, the most remote
side effect of the treatment struck him.
He had a stroke.
It left Bryan paralyzed on his left
side, and caused some brain damage. In
4tftt
A CAT scan at Beaumont provided
the worst news possible. Bryan had a
brain tumor, medulla blastoma, on the
back of his brain -- a brain tumor with
a recovery rate of less than 20 percent.
At midnight that night, Dr. Alexa
Canady, chief of neurosurgery at
Children's Hospital of Michigan and
professor at Wayne State University
School of Medicine, performed a ven-
triculostomy to relieve the pressure of
fluid on the brain. The tumor was
removed two days later.
"The medulla blastoma is a highly
malignant form of cancer," Dr. Canady
said "The cells grow rapidly, and
‘D spread."
If Bryan's brain had hemorrhaged he
would have died.
Bryan now has, and will continue to
have, a shunt in his brain to prevent
blockage of spinal fluid that can occur
with the scarring from the surgery.
A month later, Bryan began
physical therapy, he regained use of his
left side but not his short-term memory.
He remembers few details about the
stroke and the treatments that came
before.
"Cancer is something that could kill
you," he said. "I remember I was very
sick."
The stroke affects his speech. His
brain moves ideas quicker than he can
say them. He often stumbles over words
and gets frustrated. He tries hard.
Bryan also suffers from hearing loss,
a side effect of the chemotherapy.
Eventually he'll lose 80-90 percent of
his hearing.
"There's a possibility that the cancer
will come back," Donna said. "Ten-to-
15 years after the radiation ends, the
treatments can cause another malignant
brain tumor."
Bryan doesn't think about that. He
shares much with teenagers his age. "I
sort of like school," he said, with the
looking out for his older brother. He
shows him respect, and once confronted
a neighborhood child who had -been
picking on Bryan. "I asked him to stop
because my brother had a lot of bad
things happen to him," Josh recalled.
Bryan's illness put a strain on the
Diems, who considered divorcing at
one point.
Money, not Bryan, was
the focal point of the argu-
Far left: Bryan ments.
Diem rehearses
Said Bryan's father, Jerry,
his bar mitz-
"All our fights and arguing
vah with
were about money.
Annie Weiss.
Financially, we were hit
hard.
Left: Bryan gets
"The bills rarely got paid
some help from
on
time. The mortgage was
his teacher,
never
more than a few days
Kathy Dailey.
late, but the credit cards
were a month late at a
Below: Josh
time."
and Donna
Jerry was forced to resign
Diem look at a
from his job selling insur-
catalog with
ance because he was too
Bryan.
busy running back and
forth to Bryan's doctor
appointments. He took a
job delivering the Detroit
Free Press, and that saved
the family.
"We would have lost
everything if not for that
job," Donna said. "The
doctor gave our name to
Children's Special Health
Care, which covered every-
thing. We didn't have to
pay since Bryan has SSI."
Donna estimates the cost
of Bryan's medical treat-
ments totalled more than $1 million.
one of his teachers, Kathy Dailey.
"I did a lot of schlep jobs, but they
Because of the hearing loss, Bryan
brought in cash that we needed for day-
likes to sit close to Dailey's desk so he
to-day stuff," Jerry said. Now he works
can hear. Sometimes she coaxes him to
as a driver for a janitorial supply com-
sit in the back of the small classroom
pany.
with the rest of the group.
Dr. Linda Bolton, Bryan's pediatri-
"He's cooperative, and works with
cian,
admires the Diems for keeping
other kids when he has to," she said.
their focus on the present. "Bryan's had
According to Donna, Dr. Canady
so many complications, so we hold our
said Bryan's ability to learn will reach a
breath as things come up. He's always
plateau. "We're not sure where he'll stop
met the challenges though," she said.
mentally," she said. "Right now, he's
"That's the bravery with this child and
about 6 or 7 (years old). Hopefully, he'll
his family, that they don't wonder what
get to 12 or 13, if not more."
if, or what may happen."
Recently, Bryan and his brother Josh
When Bryan was sick, he wanted to
ran across the cramped living room to
know if he was going to die.
fumble through the family's videocas-
"We're all going to die," Donna told
sette cabinet. They were looking for a
him.
tape made when Bryan was sick.
Brian paused and said, "I'm not
"I videotaped everything," Donna
going to die."
said. "Both good things and bad. In
When his mother asked why, he
case he died, I needed to do this. It was
replied,
"Because you'd miss me too
my way of dealing with it."
much. I'm going to be a fighter." ❑
Josh, who is 9, does his share of
indecisive tone of a typical 12-year-old.
"My favorite class is language arts."
He knows the names of his teachers,
but needs to flip through his school
binder to remember his class schedule.
Bryan is enrolled in the special edu-
cation program at Norup, but he
attends gym with all the other students.
"Our main focus is on getting him
to socialize with other kids," said
10/31
1997
9