Friends and Family Rally to Help Fund 5-Year-Old's Fight With Brain Tumor

A five-year old student from the Burrell School is now battling a brain tumor after discovering it late last month.

As told on a Go Fund Me account to help with the financial burden, Daniel Nickerson’s parents began to notice something wasn’t right on Oct. 20 when he needed to tilt his head to focus his eyes. On the previous day, Daniel took a fall on the playground with doctors telling his mother Carley to watch him.

Two days later, Daniel began to complain of a headache while still looking out of his eye funny. After trips to Norwood Hospital and an ophthalmologist, Carley was told to keep watching the condition but things only got worse on Wednesday when the young boy went cross-eye 

After being admitted into Children's Hospital, it was there the discovery no parent ever wants to hear was made. While an ophthalmologist said his eyes looked fine, a MRI showed brain tumor was located in his brain stem.

A dangerous tumor known as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, it cannot be operated on due to its location. Only radiation, chemotherapy, and a biopsy can be done to discover what the mutations are.

Over the next few weeks, Daniel will go through with a biopsy to figure out which types of chemotherapy can be done. With weeks of radiation ahead, friends and family are rallying around Daniel to lessen the financial burden.

Last weekend, a Cut-a-Thon at 10 Hair & Nails in Plainville raised nearly $1,200 and a benefit is planned for January at Demetri’s

To help cover the daily expenses traveling to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston for treatment, a Go Fund Me account has been set up to help the family deal with the costs that come with the medial treatments.

As of the evening of Nov. 17, $4,325 was raised with a goal of $10,000.

To give to Daniel Nickerson’s Journey Fund on Go Fund Me click here.

To follow Daniel’s journey, head over to The Danny Fund Facebook page or Daniel’s Journey on Blogspot.