Little firefighter battling brain tumor gets good news
- Accused Santa responds to complaint about special-needs child
- Mother unhappy with Santa's pose with special-needs child
- Lunch lady loses job over free meal
- Can you find the panda in this puzzle?
- Panicked 7-year-old calls 911 after touching Elf on the Shelf
There is great news for a Florida family of a future firefighter who has been battling a brain tumor.
“We did a scan recently and it showed no progression at all of the tumor,” said Doctor Eric Sadler, who delivered the test results.
Riley Ruppert-Richendollar, 7, has a low-grade astrocytoma, the most common type of brain tumor for children.
In June, members of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department supported Ruppert-Richendollar during his biopsy at Wolfson Children's Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. The biopsy revealed that his brain tumor is known as a Grade 1, the most manageable type of tumor.
According to the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States, more than 20,000 children have the tumor and more than 1,000 will be diagnosed this upcoming year.
“There is a chance, long-term, that this might come back again and start growing again in five years, 10 years, 20 years,” Sadler said. “But there is a better chance that we'll be done with this treatment. And then we will watch it very closely and never need any other kind of treatment.”
Riley's dads, Scott Ruppert and Robert Richendollar, say it is a big relief.
“He is a fighter. Riley is doing fantastic in this. And he's a real trooper. We're very, very proud of him,” Richendollar said.
