By Missi Branham
Aleyah O’Brien, just 8 years old, has been diagnosed with Diffuse Midline Glioma (DMG). There is no cure, and Aleyah is expected to live only a few weeks more. Despite this, nobody is giving up on Aleyah and the O’Brien family. You can help by attending Belleview’s own Bridgerton Ball, held on Saturday, September 21, 2024, from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM at the beautiful Barn at Bellemoor, located at 10642 SE 36th Ave in Belleview. Tickets are available through Eventbrite. com by searching “Bridgerton Ball” or by calling (352) 229- 7672. All proceeds will benefit Aleyah and her family.
In December, Aleyah came to her mom with back pain. After many ER visits, doctors discovered a tumor embedded in her spine a month later.
Brandi O’Brien, Aleyah’s mom, explained that the biopsy revealed a high-grade glioma with a certain mutation for which there is no cure. “You’re given 12-18 months to live essentially, and they said to expect her to decline pretty quickly,” she said.
The next step was radiation, and at the end of 28 sessions, Brandi said her daughter was still a normal kid, walking and playing with her three brothers. The National Tumor Board then recommended they try CAR T-Cell therapy in California.
This is when Brandi said her daughter took a turn for the worse. “June 11th was the last day she walked, and they did the infusion that day. She has been bedridden ever since. She is paralyzed from the chest down now.”
Aleyah now has tumors in her brain and all the way down her spine. She is expected to live only a few weeks more. Brandi said researchers tell her the cancer took a turn for the worse, but the O’Briens think the trial caused a quick decline. “We don’t have a way to say for sure it’s the T-Cells, but she was perfectly fine before June 11th when they put the T-Cells in, so as parents, that’s what we can go off of,” Brandi explained
