By Mary Grieco
Catholic Herald Correspondent

Despite surgery, chemotherapy, girl perseveres

RHINELANDER--Doctors' offices and hospitals are familiar places for 10-year-old Autumn Beard, but she and her family are cautiously optimistic that the worst years are behind them.

Now an active fourth grade student at Rhinelander Catholic Central, Autumn has not always been able to enjoy just being a kid. When she was 2 years old, her parents, Randy and Mickey, became concerned about what appeared to be a lazy left eye. The problem turned out to be much more serious.

A pediatric ophthalmologist discovered a tumor behind her eye, one that needed immediate attention. The eye soon started to bulge and became dry, and Autumn frequently awoke crying during the night.

The diagnosis was made: optic glioma, the result of neurofibromatosis, which can cause benign tumors on nerve endings anywhere in the body. According to Autumn's mother, a registered nurse, about one in 3,000 people has this disease, with varying degrees of severity and with different symptoms. Some even go through life without ever being aware of having the condition.

Since Autumn's growing tumor was in her head, however, time was of the essence. Wanting the best care for their daughter, the Beards consulted with several doctors, and eventually found a pediatric neurosurgeon in California who had experience with this type of condition.

On March 19, 1995 -- Mickey and Randy remember the date well -- surgery was performed on the youngest of their three daughters. The tumor, however, had already taken over the optic nerve, and Autumn lost sight in her left eye.

The little toddler bounced back and adjusted to her limited vision, but her problems were far from over. Three years later, when she was 5, fear again gripped the family. During a routine MRI, a small tumor was discovered in her head. If left untreated, it would likely claim the sight in her other eye.

This time, surgery was deemed too great a risk since the tumor was further in the brain cavity. Instead, to shrink the tumor, chemotherapy was recommended.

Every week, for nearly two years, the family traveled to Madison, and eventually Marshfield, for Autumn's chemo treatments. There were a lot of tears and sleepless nights during those 22 months.

"I remember being at my mom's and crying so hard," Mickey said. "Autumn was so weak that she had to be carried. She went from 30 to 24 pounds."

The dreaded, but necessary, chemo treatments consumed their lives. After every appointment, Autumn would be violently sick for 12 hours or more, and the trips home following chemo were a nightmare for all concerned. For a few days, she would bounce back, but then it was time to repeat the whole ordeal. During that time she lost all of her hair twice, but the courageous little girl never complained. And whenever possible she would come to Mass with her family at St. Joseph Church, where parishioners prayed weekly for her recovery.

"She was on a lot of medicines on a daily basis," Randy noted. "She couldn't go without, but she was refusing to take them. Sometimes we had to hold her down. It was terrible."

Although he was hurting deeply, Randy showed strength through it all, Mickey said. "He is my support. I was the one always crying, and he would say, 'I have to be strong for you.'"

Autumn's first surgery and later the chemotherapy were two of the most trying times of his life, Randy admitted. When they were in California, they formed a close bond with another family whose child was also having high-risk surgery. Randy continues to wear a cross around his neck given to him by the father of that family.

While Randy and Mickey were necessarily spending most of their time with Autumn, they were concerned about the effect her illness was having on their other two daughters, Ashley, now 17, and Emily, 12.

"We had to focus so much on one child that the needs of the others sometimes unfortunately fell by the wayside," Randy said. They, too, were frightened. Emily was quite young at the time, and Ashley at first didn't talk about it. Ashley later admitted she thought her sister was going to die.

About the time Autumn was finishing chemotherapy, Ashley also had a cancer scare, which again threw the family into turmoil. Fortunately, it was a misdiagnosis. She is now a healthy athlete looking forward to college in the fall.

If it hadn't been for their strong faith and the support and encouragement of friends and family, the Beards aren't sure they could have coped. There were endless offers of help and prayers. Randy explained that even some of his clients formed prayer chains.

"Every night I pray that no more tumors will be found," Mickey said. "My faith keeps me going. If I just give it all to God, we will be okay. Worrying does nothing, but sometimes it is so hard to give up control."

Many people have been involved in helping the family through their difficult times. Very instrumental in Autumn's care have been her faith-filled grandparents, Clete and Evie Gillis.

Mickey noted that one of the most selfless gifts that Autumn received was from an aunt, Denise Chariton, and a cousin, Tiffany Gillis, who cut their hair to give to Autumn. Denise was also a willing blood donor, since her type matches Autumn's.

A friend made the hair into a long pony tail and sewed it into a baseball cap, which Autumn proudly wore until her own shiny blond hair grew again.

As a precaution, Autumn has been having an MRI every six months. Just when things seemed to be going smoothly, several months ago a swelling was discovered in her head. It was determined that there was a fluid build-up on top of the brain stem, and Autumn was soon on her way back to a specialist in California for more surgery.

"I started to cry; I was so nervous before surgery," Autumn said. "Sometimes I am very scared." She was hospitalized for three days following a successful surgery to drain the fluid from her head.

What the future holds, no one can be sure, but Autumn's parents are optimistic and encouraged as more is being learned about the disease and additional is research is being funded.

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© Superior Catholic Herald, 2003