THE INCREDIBLE SCREENING OF 4 YEAR OLD ANNA QUEEN

The KidScreen hearing and vision screening program may have saved the life of Anna Queen

Beth O'Brien, CHSL's Adolescent Clinical Services/Educational Audiologist, was conducting a preschool staff training at Hope United Methodist Church in Greenwood Village as part of the comprehensive services provided by the CHSL KidScreen staff.

When she asked her audience for questions or comments, she was approached by Kathy Queen, mother of twins Anna and Max. Kathy was all too eager to attest to the value of the KidScreen services. The Queen family had experienced firsthand just how valuable the screening had been, especially for Anna.

Anna, now 51/2 years old, was a typical, energetic 4 year old when KidScreen Coordinator, Betty White and team member Cindy Gladden, came to Hope United Methodist to screen the preschool children for any potential hearing, vision or language disorders. Following the screening, it was determined that although Max had some issues with the pronunciation of his letter "R", his language proficiency was age-appropriate.

Anna's screening, however, led to a much more troubling conclusion.

She was exhibiting depth perception problems and showed signs of a left eye tremor. Kathy was urged to get the child in to her doctor immediately. As Betty remarked later, "I was very concerned. Something just wasn't right."

Kathy, hoping that Anna would simply need glasses, made an immediate appointment with a Pediatric Ophthalmologist. An MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) was scheduled. But when a Neuro-oncologist was summonedto share the results, she knew the news was going to be more than she had anticipated.

Anna had an inoperable brain tumor located in the cerebellum, pushing on the pituitary in the optic nerve.

Radiation treatments were not considered as a first course of treatment because they can negatively affect cognitive ability in children under the age of 8. Alternatively, Anna was to undergo weekly chemotherapy treatments for a total of fourteen weeks. Remaining strong-willed and happy throughout, Anna called the treatments to her head her "medicine button" for her "boo boo." The Queen family feels particularly blessed that Anna was under the care of Dr. Nick Foreman, a University of Colorado Department of Neurosurgery physician and, incredibly, the creator of the only comprehensive pediatric tumor program in the region.

Today, Anna and Max look forward to "graduating" from preschool soon and entering Peakview Elementary School in August. Anna will have to have an MRI every 3 months for 1 year and then MRI scanning as indicated for the next ten years. And the news is good - the cure rate is 90%!

But Kathy Queen knows that Anna has her whole future in front of her. She never lost hope. And she thanks the KidScreen team for their proactive reporting.