Medulla Warrior, Lucas Fuller Go Gray for May

Medulla Warrior,

Lucas FullerGo Gray for May

Ellen Keaton

The Ashland Beacon

Imagine that you have everything you ever wanted in life — a wonderful husband, a beautiful home, amazing children. Life is good… not a care in the world… but then your world comes crashing down around you. That is exactly what happened to Jeri Ann Fuller and her husband, Dr. Bryan Fuller, in 2021.

It was already a very difficult time for everyone. COVID had been running rampant in the country. We were under quarantine, schools were closed, and every student had a Chromebook that was now their substitute school.

This is where the Fullers’ story begins. Jeri Ann recounts that her identical twin boys, Lucas and Chase, were still on school lockdown and doing their work on Chromebooks. Lucas said to her, “Mom, I keep seeing double.” “I said to him, look at me, and when he did, his eyeball turned all the way in toward his nose.” She continued, “My husband is a physician, so we knew it was something serious.” The pediatrician immediately sent them to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, where he was diagnosed with medulloblastoma.

Medulloblastoma is a rapidly growing, malignant brain tumor that starts near the brainstem in the cerebellum. This type of brain tumor is more common in children and accounts for about 20% of all brain tumors in children. It can spread to the spinal cord or other parts of the brain.

In Lucas’ case, the tumor had metastasized to his spine. The first step for treatment was to remove the tumor. After the surgery, he had 30 proton radiation treatments. According to his mom, this is a specialized type of radiation that specifically targets the exact spots on his spine and his brain, doing the least amount of damage to surrounding tissue and organs. In the final phase of treatment, Lucas received inpatient chemotherapy one week each month for six months.

Any time there is surgery on the brain, there are inherent risk factors. About 25% of children that have medulloblastoma develop posterior fossa syndrome. Unfortunately for Lucas, he was one of those statistics. “It takes away the ability for these kids to do just about everything… walk, talk, eat, use the bathroom. It’s unpredictable how much they will recover,” Jeri Ann says. However, this is where Lucas became more than a statistic. She continued, “Lucas worked extremely hard and was discharged from physical therapy last year. He can walk and do everything by himself now. He is a little off balance at times and can’t play basketball that he loved anymore, but we go to Cleveland to the NBA games when we can and he watches on TV.”

What does the future hold for Lucas and his family? Jeri tells me, “He has regular scans and everything has said ‘no evidence of disease.’ Some of the medications used caused some hearing loss, and Lucas wears hearing aids. The radiation treatments also caused permanent hair loss and sometimes he worries people are looking at him and wears a hat.” Lucas laughed and said, “I might be bald, but I still look better than most of the people on Instagram!”

Lucas still faces challenges every day as a result of the treatments and the effects of posterior fossa syndrome. As much as he loved basketball, he can’t really play on a team. He can jump about an inch off the ground now but then will probably fall. He can’t run but can walk fast and will fall at times. Jeri Ann says, “He will fall but I have to remember to let him fall.”

Other challenges for the family are made more difficult by the fact that there is an identical twin brother. Lucas and Chase are now 15 and very soon will be able to drive. “We don’t know how we are going to handle that right now. We can’t hold Chase back, and we know Lucas will be upset, but at this time he doesn’t have the reflexes needed for driving a car.”

Lucas was just named a Medullo Warrior for The Cure Starts Now. The Cure Starts Now is a foundation that focuses on wiping out childhood brain cancers. 100% of the donations received go directly to research for a cure. You can learn more about their work at www.thecurestartsnow.org.

The Fullers have faced a parent’s worst nightmare. There are so many emotions involved — fear of the future, frustration, anger, hurt for your child as they face challenges no child should experience. Even though a number of years have passed, Jeri Ann’s voice still breaks as she talks about all they have been through. One observation that she made is that people don’t know how to act when there is a cancer diagnosis for a child. She said, “You know you live in a small town, but you really don’t know how the wagons will circle around until you go through something like this. But when the worst is over, they don’t always know how to continue to be in a teen’s life.” She went on to say, “It’s a weird place to be and it’s hard to rejoice in Lucas being healthy and I’m afraid to say he’s fine when somebody asks.”

Through all of the treatments, physical therapy, and medications, Lucas has remained a witty, fun, intelligent young man who is enjoying every minute of the life he has been given. If you would like to make a donation to The Cure Starts Now in Lucas’ name for brain cancer research, you can go to: https://p2p.thecurestartsnow.org/3394.

In closing, this writer would like to add a few thoughts from personal experience. Cancer is a devastating diagnosis, no matter the type or the age of the patient, but it is especially difficult when it is a child. The emotions that families experience are like being on a roller coaster. The everyday life they always had is no longer the same. Sometimes friends and even family are afraid to ask questions because they don’t know what to say. Many times, especially after recovery has begun, the parents just need a friend to listen to their fears and daily challenges. Don’t forget them… invite them for a cup of coffee or ice cream or maybe just a walk in the park. Ask questions, let them cry, scream, yell, share all the things they are afraid to say… they still need people.