(note: if you want to read what is going on, scroll down) The Williams family is facing an incredibly challenging time as their precious son, little Charlie, battles cancer. Charlie, who just turned four, is a brave little fighter, and just underwent surgery last week. Unfortunately, their insurance is out of network and while they are trying to get them to work with them, this is adding a significant financial burden to their emotional stress. How You Can Help: Gift Cards Gift cards can be a practical and immediate way to help the Williams family manage daily expenses such as groceries, gas, and meals, especially as they are driving back and forth a lot for treatment and appointments. Consider sending gift cards from stores like: -Walmart -Target -Local grocery stores -Restaurants or meal delivery services -Gas cards Donations Your financial support can make a big difference in alleviating the medical costs and other unexpected expenses that the Williams family is facing. Every contribution, no matter the size, is deeply appreciated. Donating through Venmo makes it simple and safe and there are no transactions fees. Messages of Support and Prayers Your kind words and prayers can provide immense emotional support to the Williams family. Please take a moment to leave a message of encouragement, hope, and love. Knowing that they are surrounded by a community that cares deeply for them can be a powerful source of strength. God hears our pleas and we believe little Charlie will be healed! Contact Information For those who wish to send physical items or cards, please reach out to Vanessa at [email protected] for the Williams family's mailing address. The Williams family is profoundly grateful for your support during this difficult time. Your generosity and compassion mean the world to them as they navigate this journey with precious Charlie. From Tayla: On Friday 5/3 around 2pm we were getting the kids dressed to go run some errands before the kids birthday trip to Orlando. (Charlie 5/5. Arabella 5/8). As I was putting Charlie’s shirt on I noticed a lump just under his ribs on the right side. We have a very special person in our lives who has a long and extensive medical career. We shared our concerns and we all felt this lump needed to be checked out (not painful, hard to the touch, and the positioning) plus he’s our son and I will never let the fear of feeling silly keep me from running our kids to get checked out. At the LWR ER on Fruitville they preformed x-rays and an abdominal ultrasound. The ultrasound showed two masses in his right kidney that appeared to be around 6x3.5x4cm each. They recommend for us to get him to All Children’s. We had the choice of bringing him to the ER at All Childrens that night or to wait until Monday for our pediatrician to refer him. We felt that because of how quickly this lump wasn’t there and then was, that we needed to go that night. Friday night we arrived to the ER where they did a CT scan that showed one large mass around 11x7.5x8cm. They admitted us to the 7th floor for oncology and hematology Saturday morning where we waited for the Oncologist and Surgeon to review Charlie’s findings. They both agreed that this mass resembled Wilms Tumor and that they needed to review all the findings with multiple oncologists and surgeons in their Monday morning huddles to agree on the plan of action, so they did let us go home to celebrate Charlie’s birthday while we waited for the call. He has told us multiple times it was the best birthday ever. The 2 plans they had to decide between were to surgically remove the tumor that had over taken his kidney and then start chemo or if the tumor was too large and too close to other organs and arteries they would have to do a biopsy, start chemo to shrink the tumor, then remove it once it was at a manageable size, and resume chemo. Removing the tumor first was the best plan. We were blessed to find out after the huddle on Monday that they all believed the tumor could be removed safely and scheduled us for urgent surgery Wednesday morning. We were able to have a lot of fun at home in the meantime. There was still a risk that once the surgeon opened Charlie up that the removal would not be possible due to the tumor not having enough space in between a spot of his liver and artery, that would result in continuing with the second plan of action. We were blessed with such and INCREDIBLE surgeon here, and that she was able to perform a flawless surgery and removal. During pre-op they informed us that they had set blood aside for a transfusion because of the extent of the surgery, that he would most likely need it half way through. That he would spend at least 24 hours in the ICU post surgery. That he would have the nasal tube for at least 2-3 days and would not be able to eat or drink for that time. Charlie did so well during the surgery he barely bled and didn’t require any blood/transfusion, he never even seen the ICU and was able to come to his room immediately. His nasal tube was removed just 12 hours after surgery, and was only on a clear diet for 24 hours, so 32 hours after surgery he was able to eat and drink whatever he wanted instead of being only on IV fluids for several days. This is all because of how strong he truly is and how well his body has handled all of this. He has been impressing everyone, the nurses, doctors, surgical team, pain management team, even other families with how much he’s WANTING to get up and move around! Little Charlie has exceeded all expectations during his post-op recovery, they were able to discharge us Sunday afternoon! The pathology has come back. It is Wilms Tumor which is a cancerous tumor. It has spread to his lymph nodes, and for this particular tumor they remove surrounding lymph nodes to biopsy, all 7 that they removed do show cancerous. The tumor they removed was 11x7.5x8 cm and was 15.6 ounces. There is a 2mm spot on his lung that is too small to biopsy so the only thing to do right now is monitor it. Our son has stage III Wilms Tumor with favorable histology. He will start radiation and chemotherapy treatments next week. We want to thank every single person that has reached out, sent care packages, PRAYED, and supported us through this so far. You will never know how grateful we are for each and every one of you! We do ask that you continue to keep our incredible Son in your prayers as we start the next part of this journey. We serve a mighty God and we know he has and never will leave our side. He is the reason for such good new in such a terrible situation. He hears our prayers and yours! There were so many things that could have happened, or been diagnosed differently, and I thank God they weren’t. From a mothers heart, thank you.