Local teen gets positive news from U.S. doctor

Lisa Cater, an Orléans resident and St. Matthew Catholic High School student, was diagnosed with a Type 1 tumour – categorized as slow-growing and non-cancerous – five years ago. Since the initial surgery to remove all but two tiny nodes, the now-17-year-old has battled a range of side effects including double vision, headaches, slurred speech, tremors and balance and walking issues, eventually requiring radiation treatment and a shunt to drain extra fluid from her brain.

But late last month, Cater and her family travelled down to Rochester, NY’s Mayo Clinic to positive results, recounts mother Debra Dowding of their Sept. 28 to Oct. 2 trip. Lisa’s treatment in Canada – and at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario – has been phenomenal, Dowding stresses, with Mayo staff “gold-stamping” all of her care received north of the border.

The one new development, she continues, was in neuro-ophthalmology, which CHEO doesn’t offer. Lisa had seen a specialist with the general section of the Ottawa Hospital, but was told nothing could be done about her double vision, Dowding explains. At the Mayo Clinic, “it took (the doctor) 10 minutes to figure out he could help her vision,” she says. “I started crying. I looked at him and said, ‘Do you understand how much that means?’”

Correcting some of Lisa’s double vision – with surgery to align images when she looks down and forward – will likely help ease her headaches, Dowding suggests, and create a trickle-down effect when it comes to managing her other symptoms. “It’s the best possible news we could have hoped for,” she adds.

As for why that option was never discussed in Canada, the surgery – which is scheduled for Nov. 4 down in the States – may not be one offered in the country’s health care system, Dowding speculates, admitting some frustration that Canadian physicians never alerted her to that option south of the border. “They’ve been doing that surgery (in the U.S.) for 20 years,” she says, with the procedure only taking 15 minutes per eye. “It was so easy … she didn’t need to suffer.”

Now, Dowding continues, “the current issue is battling with OHIP,” explaining she still hasn’t received word on how much of the consultation visit was covered. And though she’s been alerted to the fact approvals should have been received before going to the States, “I will not allow my daughter to suffer one day more needlessly,” Dowding says. “It’s not even (about the expenses being covered). They need to make a decision so I know my financial situation. I just need an answer.”

Previous fundraising efforts undertaken by family friends to cover the cost of last month’s trip managed to raise close to $18,000, about half of which was used in Rochester, she recounts. The remaining funds will go towards Lisa’s upcoming surgery, which is estimated at around $20,000, including travel expenses, Dowding adds. They will also continue fundraising, she explains, especially since the since even a first-time success will mean follow-up trips, not to mention potential other surgeries down the line if next month doesn’t yield positive results.

Otherwise, “we’re trying to focus on the positive,” Dowding describes. “(The surgery) is going to happen. We’re really, really excited. Lisa is still reserved about it, because she’s had a lot of disappointments … but I’m still excited enough for the both of us.” For more information or to donate, visit www.silas.ca/lisa/