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contact at Le Bonheur Children’s
Hospital in Memphis. On Monday,
Dr. Paul Klimo, Chief of Pediatric
Neurosurgery at Le Bonheur, called
and told the family to be in Memphis on
Wednesday. This eventually led to a door
that would open up at St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital in the same city.
“We were scheduled to have a brain
biopsy at Le Bonheur on February 22,”
Kim said, but Ian’s physical status
continued deteriorating. The yet
undiagnosed condition was causing
alarming inflammation of Ian’s brain,
so on February 26th, he had a shunt
inserted to alleviate the swelling, which
was leaving him unable to even lift his
own head. It also caused partial paralysis,
worsened speech ability, and various
other neurological problems. Finally,
on February 28th, the Cochrans were
given Ian’s diagnosis.
“Dr. Klimo told us Ian had Gliomatosis
Cerebri - anaplastic astrocytoma,” Joel
said. Kim added, “Dr. Klimo sat on the
tumor board at St. Jude and was able to
present Ian’s results to the board members,
who all agreed they needed to treat Ian.”
They both felt there was nothing that
could be done for Ian and needed a sliver
of hope. Hope came in the form of a plan
of action for Ian.
The St. Jude team came up with a
plan which began with an extensive series
of radiation therapy starting March 14.
In addition to a Monday through Friday
daily schedule of other types of physical
therapy, Ian had 60 radiation treatments.
Kim, Joel, Ian’s sister Hope, in addition
to their pastor, and an abundance of
family friends, spent time with Ian during
this two-month journey.
Joel explained the treatment goal.
“The radiation was to try and reduce the
size of the aggressive, squid-like tumor
that was diffused throughout Ian’s entire
brain,” he said. “Basically, the radiation
kills the overgrowth of cells; killing the
fast-growing cells.” Joel said since the
initial treatment, there is significant global
improvement, but while it has shrunk,
it is still there. “And it will progress,
eventually.” He continued by explaining
that Ian does not have tumor masses.
Instead he has infiltrating cancerous cells.
“The only documentation I’ve seen of
this condition says that there are less than
100 cases diagnosed per year, globally.”
This makes the Cochran’s situation that
much more challenging, but family,
friends, and strangers are helping in a
big way to lessen the burden.
Close friends Adriane and Scott
Stanley offered to take the responsibility
of sharing Ian’s progress with others by
creating a Facebook page #IANSTRONG.
Hometown Brandon • 39