Ask 13-year-old Kylie Parslow how she sees herself and she has a ready answer:
Brave, tough, and strong.
And maybe most of all, positive.
Just a month ago, Kylie was in the car with her mom, Celeste Parslow, on their way to a routine eye exam, when she blurted out “Mom, I can’t see anything out of my right eye.”
“I thought maybe it was a migraine or a stroke,” Ms. Parslow said Saturday.
But it was something much worse.
Within minutes they were on their way to Albany Medical Center where scans found fluid from a golf ball-sized brain tumor was pressing on Kylie’s right eye.
“They scheduled her immediately for brain surgery,” Ms. Parslow said.
Just Friday, they learned the vision in the eye has continued to deteriorate and may now be impacting Kylie’s left eye.
She was expected to begin a grueling 15 months of chemotherapy for the tumor by Wednesday.
The community is already rallying around Kylie—a #KylieStrong fundraiser will be held Saturday, April 12, from 11am-2pm at the Schoharie Firehouse—but timing has the Parslows more than a little overwhelmed:
It was nearly two years to the day that son Nate Parslow lost his arm in a horrific car accident.
“We’re all wondering what comes next,” Ms. Parslow said.
Kylie spent two weeks in Albany Med ICU after a biopsy and surgery to place a drain in her skull in an effort to reduce the pressure on her brain.
Doctors were waiting for biopsy results before deciding on whether to go ahead with more surgery or chemo.
“But the fact that she’s lost so much vision in such a short time…She’s already legally blind in the right eye; they’re hoping now to save the left one,” Ms. Parslow said.
The family’s grateful that they were able to take a Disney Marvel Cruise to the Bahamas just before Kylie’s diagnosis; Kylie’s memories of the palm trees she saw and Disney Princesses she met are helping her deal with what she’s up against now.
Kylie’s doctors have promised her a break in her chemo so she can go back.
No one knows whether Kylie will lose her hair during chemo so her mom’s been helping her put together a collection of colorful head wraps and scarves.
And for now, they’re making the most of her beautiful auburn hair, curling it some days, adding bows others.
“I’m scared and sad, but I’m brave and tough too,” she said.
Nate Parslow is still struggling to get back on his feet after the 2023 accident that took his right arm; Kylie’s other brother, Connor—the two squabble like any other siblings, “but he’ll defend her against anything,” Ms. Parslow said—worries that “he’ll be next.”
“It’s like there’s this black cloud hanging over the house every two years…”
The April 12 fundraiser #KylieStrong at the Schoharie Firehouse will run from 11am-2pm and will feature games, an Easter egg hunt, chicken from Barbecue Delights, and a basket raffle with more than 40 baskets, including one with four season Red Sox passes.
Follow #KylieStrong on Facebook on Ms. Parslow’s Facebook page to keep up with Kylie.