Dear Gordon, 

I was so happy to stumble across your support page! 

My name is Julie Sturgeon and I am from Akron, a very small town in Northwest Iowa. I am married to Mike Sturgeon and we have 3 children.   Ryan is 8, Nathan 7, and Samantha is 16 months old. 

Only 4 weeks ago Samantha was diagnosed with retinoblastoma and has since lost her right eye. The cancer was contained to her retina and pathology shows no sign that it has spread. For this we are so grateful! Now we are dealing with the fact that our baby had to lose an eye.

Although I begged and pleaded with the Lord to only let it be an eye and let us keep her,  it is still hard to handle. 

Retinoblastoma tumors can travel from the retina, through the optic nerve to the brain so I know just how lucky we are,  but the roller coaster we have been on is overwhelming. 

Samantha is supposed to have her prosthesis in on May 11, what a beautiful Mothers Day gift that will be.  Samantha has one beautiful blue eye and soon I know that she will have two. 

The stories in your website have made me feel that it would be good to talk to others with similar experiences.  I could use some some advice and would appreciate others to respond.

This is all still pretty new to us and I would enjoy hearing any success stories. It is talking to other people and knowing that your not alone that makes it all a little easier! 

Thanks,

Julie

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