| Tommy's Wish Foundation, Inc. E-mail Us When God allows a burden to be put upon you, he will put his arms underneath you to help carry it. Hello Everyone, Welcome to Tommy's Wish Foundation. It is a program that our son Tommy asked for, he survived a brain tumor. He had the tumor (ganglioglioma) from infancy and it was slow growing so therefore it was classified benign. A few days before his 15th birthday he was very ill and his brain had become swollen. An MRI showed the tumor had suddenly quadrupled in size from an MRI done just several months earlier. An oncologist was called in and medication was given to bring the swelling down so surgery could be done. His doctor could not believe what had happened after all the careful watching but we were losing our child. The tumor can still return and he is still watched. Brain tumors, like all tumors, fall into two broad categories, benign and malignant. A benign tumor is usually contained and does not spread, but that doesn't mean it isn't dangerous. According to the Brain Tumor Society (TBTS), brain tumors - even benign brain tumors - can recur and they can kill. Tommy's Wish is this: that other children should not suffer as he did throughout his childhood because of illness. Tommy had to take so many steroids for asthma and the illnesses that he encountered that his veins were difficult to find for routine bloodwork, which most of the time was every week. IV's for CAT Scans and MRI's required RN's from the hospital. Our rule to them was get your best because you only get one stick. Tommy had bruises everywhere because of the routine bloodwork. At the age of 8 he stopped breathing from a severe combination of seizures and asthma. He spent several days in the PICU with tubes everywhere. We were in shock and still can't believe how close our child came to dying. Tommy is a survivor, so be happy for this. Yes, he still suffers from the effects of the brain tumor to this day. He is such a joy to be around. Tommy is extremely kind and so pleasant to be around. Today he enjoys bowling and painting. Tommy's Wish is to raise money for various organizations that help children who are ill. Examples are St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, American Heart Association, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, etc. or to help individual families that are in need. Please join us for "Tommy's Wish" God Bless You!!! Tom & Sylvia Effler Founders of Tommy's Wish Foundation, Inc. "Somewhere Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World" Lyrics - Performed by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Somewhere over the rainbow Way up high, And the dreams that you dream of Once in a lullaby (Ai) (Oh) Somewhere over the rainbow Bluebirds fly And the dreams that you dream of, Dreams really do come true (ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh) Someday I'll wish upon a star And wake up where the clouds are far behind me Where troubles melt like lemon drops High above the chimney top That's where you'll find me (Oh) Somewhere over the rainbow Bluebirds fly And the dreams that you dare to Oh why, oh why can't I (hai hai, ai ai ai) Well I see trees of green and red roses too I watch them bloom for me and you And I think to myself what a wonderful world Well I see skies of blue and I see clouds of white And the bright bliss of day I like the dark And I think to myself what a wonderful world The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky Are also on the faces of people passing by I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do They're really saying I, I love you I hear babies cry and I watch them grow They'll learn much more than we'll know And I think to myself what a wonderful world (urld urld, urld urld urld) Someday I'll wish upon a star Wake up where the clouds are far behind me Where trouble melts like lemon drops High above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me (Oh) Somewhere over the rainbow Way up high And the dreams that you dare to, Why, oh why can't I (hai hai, ai ai ai) Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ah Ah Eeh Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah |
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