After many weeks of not feeling well and multiple doctor office and emergency room visits, Paxton was diagnosed with a brain tumor in the back of his brain on March 13, 2019. Shortly after diagnosis, Paxton traveled from his home in Alaska to Children’s Hospital Colorado via medivac. Paxton underwent surgery to remove the tumor on March 18, his 3rd birthday.
On March 25, 2019, Paxton was diagnosed with a grade IV anaplastic medulloblastoma, a very nasty type of cancer that placed Paxton in the high-risk category. Paxton endured 6 rounds of chemotherapy and three stem cell transplants over the course of four months before being declared cancer-free at the beginning of September. Paxton rang the bell in September and then got to live the next 3 months doing the things he loved, such as playing with trains, going to baseball games, visiting the zoo, traveling, making people laugh, and spending time with his friends and family.
At his 3-month post-treatment scans in December, Paxton’s family and care team were devastated to learn that the cancer had returned and spread throughout his brain. Because of his age and the type of tumor, there were no treatment options available, so Paxton and his family took a Make-A-Wish trip to Walt Disney World and began maintenance chemotherapy upon their return to Colorado. Paxton’s tumor grew quickly over the next month and Paxton laid down his sword on January 15, 2020.
Paxton’s tumor was donated to the Morgan Adams Foundation Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Program at Children’s Hospital Colorado / University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus to further research into medulloblastoma and new treatments for pediatric cancer. Please support The Morgan Adams Foundation as they fund this research in honor and loving memory of Paxton.
