Kimberly Scott’s life changed in March, when doctors discovered a lemon sized tumor in her toddler’s brain.
“They said in a week, he would have died if he didn’t have the surgery,” she said.
Her 3-year-old son Alex now faces at least six months of aggressive chemotherapy after the cancerous brain tumor was removed.
Hundreds in the community will come together at Kissena Park Lake to “Walk for Alex” on June 8.
They will raise money to help pay for some of Alex’s medical expenses as the Flushing family tries to bring order back into their lives.
The walk begins at 10 a.m. this Saturday, with registration opening an hour in advance.
“It’s amazing how the community steps up,” said Kimberly Scott, 29. “I haven’t been able to work at all and my husband works intermittently. This helps us out fantastically until we get back on a good work schedule.”
The Scotts, who have two young sons, were billed $49,000 for the surgery alone. They do not know how much of that will be covered by insurance. They are also facing fees for hospital stays and chemo.
“How our life was before is how we want to keep it now,” said Scott, a medical assistant. “I don’t want to have to sell my son’s Wii so I can pay the Con Edison bill.”
The mother of one of Alex’s classmates organized the walk, which has also received support from the Knights of Columbus, the International Nursery School and a number of charities. The groups hope to raise at least $5,000.
“I called her crying and thanked her so much,” Scott said.
While Alex suffers painful mouth and stomach sores, his mother said he has shown great perseverance.
“He should be having problems with speech, and he doesn’t,” Scott said. “He should be having weakness, but he doesn’t. He’s defying all the laws of cancer.”
Alex also has a huge post-surgery scar on his head, but does not have to worry about it so much since his father got an identical tattoo on his head.
“To me, that was the sweetest thing a father could do,” Kimberly Scott said. “Alex didn’t like everyone looking at him. He’s never going to be the only person with this thing on his head. Daddy will always have one too.”
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