KANE — Kane youth Rory Undercoffer recently returned home from a week in Discovery Cove in Orlando, Fla., after having her wish to swim with dolphins granted on behalf of Make-A-Wish Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Rory, who was diagnosed with an astrocytoma brain tumor in June 2016, was granted her wish in March.
When asked how the tumor was first discovered, Rory’s mother Kate Undercoffer said, “I just took Rory to the eye doctor. It wasn’t anything, nothing seemed wrong. I just thought she needed glasses because her eyes weren’t just tracking right. And from there, the eye doctor, Dr. Cortez in Warren, when he looked at the picture of the back of Rory’s eyes that they do in Wal-Mart, he just got dead silent. I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ and he said, ‘You need to get to Children’s now. I’m going to call and see if they can get you in today.’”
Undercoffer added that after getting into Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh the next day, “They said the pressure in her head was so great because her tumor had shifted and blocked off her third ventricle to drain any of her spinal fluid. They said the pressure in her head was so great she should have been having migraines, throwing up and passing out, that she could have had a stroke. That there was no Earthly reason why this child was feeling completely fine and had no symptoms whatsoever.”
Undercoffer went on to describe the shock she and her husband, Dave, experienced after learning the diagnosis — and how it has impacted their entire family. Undercoffer cited that cancer runs in her family, and her grandmother and her grandmother’s two brothers died from brain tumors.
As for Rory’s tumor, “It’s not actively cancerous at this time, but it could be at any moment,” said Undercoffer. “We go for a scan every 90 days to see if it’s grown and if it’s changed. If it does, then she has to do chemo and radiation, but we have no reason to believe that will ever happen. But, it is a possibility with her type of tumor.”
Following Rory’s diagnosis, her neuro-oncologist suggested that she apply for Make-a-Wish now in case she ended up getting sicker. That way the family would have memories to share and not have to rush in making arrangements to make her wish come true. From that point, the Undercoffers worked with the Make-a-Wish foundation of Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
“They have wish volunteers,” stated Undercoffer, “that come around and meet with the kids and kind help them to figure out what their wish would be. And Rory wished to swim with dolphins.”
When asked about her favorite parts of the trip, Rory responded, “Swimming with my dolphin, having Zach be our tour guy at Sea World and getting to ride the Mine Train twice at Disney World!”
In response to a question of her experience with Make-a-Wish from a parent’s perspective, Undercoffer responded, “Amazing, absolutely amazing! I would say not to hesitate at all. To do it while your kid is feeling good because a year ago, we didn’t even know Rory had a brain tumor. So we realize now that a year from now our life could be completely flipped upside-down. So if your kid qualifies or you’re curious if they qualify, a phone call doesn’t hurt.”
Undercoffer went on, “The volunteers that we worked with were phenomenal. They took care of every tiny little thing that could come up. The Make-a-Wish Corporate people were on top of everything. I would call down and say, ‘This is Rory’s mom’ and they would know exactly who I was.”
Rory and her mom also commented on their experience with Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh as being a positive one. Rory, despite her ordeal, even raised money and donations locally to help restock the hospital’s play area, specifically dolls and their clothing. In all she was able to raise more than $350 in gift cards and more than 65 dolls, toys and crafts to donate to the Child Life department of Children’s Hospital.
In an email informing The Era of Rory’s granted wish, Francesca Dabecco, marketing and communications clerk for Make-A-WishGreater Pennsylvania and West Virginia, said, “Not only will a story like this share Rory’s heartwarming wish story, but we also hope that it will encourage the local community to reach out to us about other children they know who may be eligible for a wish.”
Undercoffer also wished to convey her appreciation for the outpouring of support that Rory and her family had received and how it had helped them get through everything when she said, “Having the dance studio has been so wonderful because they’re so supportive. Incredibly supportive at reminding me that sometimes it is okay to take a day off and sometimes sending food when Rory got home from the hospital.”
Undercoffer went on, “While we were in the hospital, Rory got over 600 e-cards. They would print them off and bring them to us every day and we plastered her room with them. Just knowing that everyone back home in the studio, Kane, Johnsonburg and in general were praying for Rory and standing with her made it easier.”
According to an article on the National Institute of Health’s National Cancer Institute, childhood astrocytomas can be detected through regular checkups, neurological tests, vision tests and looking for symptoms such as headaches, impaired vision, nausea and vomiting, impaired or distorted speech, changes in behavior and/or seizures. People who suspect they or a loved one suffer from a brain tumor are recommended to seek medical advice immediately.
Through her ordeal, Rory has grown to understand a side of humanity that many fear they will have to experience or have sad memories about. She and her parents have, however, chosen to focus on the positive and reach out to others like her who live with cancer. Rory even commented, “I would like to become a scientist to help make medicine for brain tumors.”
Children are like that. They persevere under insurmountable odds, stay positive in the most negative of circumstances and warm others’ hearts in the coldest moments.
For more information on how to support the Make-a-Wish foundation or refer a child, visit the Make-a-Wish website at www.wish.org or call 1-602-279-9474.
