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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, July 25, 2013 | 6 Savannah keeps ghting with mom at her side by David Lea Oakville Beaver Staff Spotlight "Connected to your Community" A fter surgery to remove a tumour the size of a golf ball, six rounds of chemotherapy and about 100 blood transfusions, a four-year-old Oakville girl is still not out of the woods. In September 2012, the Oakville Beaver told the story of Savannah Herbert, a then three-yearold girl who loved Dora the Explorer, singing and dancing, but who had been diagnosed with neuroblastoma, an aggressive and malignant tumour that develops from nerve tissue. This abdominal tumour compressed nearly all of Savannah's internal organs including her lungs making it dif cult for her to breathe and necessitating her hospitalization. The cancer attacked quickly with Savannah not showing signs of illness until six weeks before being diagnosed. "I will never forget sitting in the hospital room with all three of my kids. The doctor came in, asked me to leave the kids and took me to another room. We sat down, he looked at me and said, `Your daughter has cancer. She needs to go to a pediatric hospital and she needs to go now. We've arranged an ambulance,'" said Brandy Herbert, Savannah's mother. "That was the single worst moment of my life." Savannah was taken to McMaster Children's Hospital where doctors gave her a bleak prognosis. Initially, Savannah did not respond to the chemotherapy and had to be put on life support for six weeks. Generous donations made by the Oakville community allowed Brandy, a single parent and sole source of income for her family, to take time off work to be with Savannah during this period. Brandy noted her daughter was not just ghting the cancer, but the damage it had done to her tiny body. Eventually the tumour began responding to the chemotherapy and it shrank to the point that it could be removed. Surgery to extract the tumour took place in February and lasted for 10 agonizing hours. Despite these developments, Brandy said her daughter is still not cancer-free with medical scans scheduled for August to determine the extent of its presence. In the meantime, radiation treatments, chemotherapy and now Cis-Retinoic Acid treat- I have never wavered in my faith that she will make it through this. Never. Regardless of what the doctors said, regardless of what the science says, I wholeheartedly believe she is going to make it through this. Brandy Herbert Savannah's mom Young Savannah Herbert and her mom, Brandy Herbert, are ghting the four-year-old's neuroblastoma together. photo by Eric Riehl ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog) ments continue. On the positive side, Savannah is back in her home having been discharged from hospital in May. Due to the radiation treatments, the ailing four-year-old remains on a feeding tube although at one point began munching on snacks while watching Caillou. Another tube that runs into her arm delivers uids to keep her hydrated. Brandy has set Savannah up in her home's living room so she can be with her siblings Dakota, 7, and Cody, 9. Savannah lost her blond hair because of chemotherapy and is frail from her ordeal. However, she still manages a smile and waves to visitors. Brandy said Savannah is happy to be home. "She's come a long way," she said. "She's tough." Brandy said the experience has forced Savannah to relearn many things such as walking and eating. It has also caused damage to her hearing and resulted in Savannah developing a sensitivity to light. Despite how grim Savannah's prognosis was and the uncertainty of the road ahead, Brandy remains hopeful her little girl will beat the cancer. "I have never wavered in my faith that she will make it through this. Never. Regardless of what the doctors said, regardless of what the science says, I wholeheartedly believe she is going to make it through this," said Brandy. "I don't know what she is going to have to go through to get there. She's been through a lot already, but she is going to make it. She's tough and she wants to." Brandy said she is telling her daughter's story for a number of reasons. First, she wants to raise awareness of need for more funding for childhood cancer research. Second, she wants people to donate blood, noting Savannah has had more than 100 transfusions during her time in hospital. Finally, while Brandy is deeply grateful for what the Oakville community has done for her family so far she said she must ask for help again, stating that caring for Savannah has made it impossible for her to return to work. "You have everything from your regular everyday bills to the costs for travelling, parking, medications that aren't covered and equipment that is not covered," said Brandy. "She is too ill for me to go back to work and she is too much work for me to go back to work. In order to have someone take care of her they need to know the (feeding) tube, they need to know her PICC (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) line, they need to know about all of her medications and when to give them and how to give them. A registered nurse would cost me more than I'm going to make, so I'm just stuck." With Savannah about to reach the end of the treatment program that exists for her cancer in Canada, Brandy said money may also be needed to take Savannah out of country where other treatment options exist. For more information or to make a donation to the Herbert family, visit www.facebook.com/ savannahvsneuroblastoma. A garage sale that will raise money for Savannah's care will be held Saturday, July 27 at 568 Weynway Court. Anyone who wants to drop off an item for this garage sale can do so at 568 Weynway Court today or Friday. NEIL OLIVER Vice ­President and Group Publisher Volume 51 | Number 34 467 Speers Road, Oakville ON (905) 845-3824 Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. DAVID HARVEY JILL DAVIS Regional General Manager Editorial Department: (905) 632-0588 Classi ed Advertising: (905) 632-4440 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 Halton Region Editor in Chief ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor