Brownsville area community rallies around 10-year-old girl with brain cancer
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The Brownsville area community is rallying around the Sealy family, of Hiller, after Olivia Sealy, 10, was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer in May. From left are Shannon Sealy, Colin Sealy, Olivia Sealy and Ron Sealy.
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Olivia Sealy, 10, of Hiller was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer in May and recently started chemotherapy. She is going into fifth grade at Brownsville Area School District.
A mother’s intuition led to a quick diagnosis, but one that was dreaded: her 10-year-old daughter had brain cancer.
Shannon Sealy of Hiller noticed her daughter, Olivia “Livi” Sealy, was dragging her left foot, and that she had weakness in her left arm. She made an appointment with her primary care physician, and had blood work and X-rays performed.
“Something in my gut said ‘Move a little faster,'” she said.
She made an appointment at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, and they were immediately sent to the emergency department. Doctors delivered the news May 22 that Livi had Pilocytic Astrocytoma Grade 1, a slow growing brain tumor. In Livi’s case, the tumor is inoperable because it is located deep within her thalamus, the main central nervous system.
“It’s tough, but we have a lot of family support, community support, and we just know the outlook is in our favor, so we’re just trying to get to that point,” she said.
She is on her second round of chemotherapy, which will likely be ongoing for a year or more.
“She will have this for life, but the goal is that it shrinks the tumor and makes it dormant, where the cancer cells are not reproducing,” she said. “That’s what the goal is, but no one knows for sure how that’s going to go. We have to get through the first 12 weeks of chemotherapy, and then we get a scan done and we go from there.”
Livi will be a fifth grade student at Brownsville Area School District in the fall. Sealy said she and her husband, Ron, have been keeping Livi away from crowds because of the pandemic, and Livi keeps in close contact with her friends on FaceTime.
“We’re just kind of staying inside, doing our thing, family-wise. We more or less want to keep her as healthy as we can for as long as we can,” she said.
Livi was a longtime student at DeeDee’s Studio of Dance, but weakness and fatigue forced her to quit while she goes through treatment. Instead, she has taken up arts and crafts and playing games, which the family received through donations.
Sealy said her husband’s mother often lends a helping hand, and her parents, who live in eastern Pennsylvania, have often brought their RV for trips to help the family and help care for their son, Colin, who is 2. Shannon Sealy has worked as the secretary of the Historic Church of St. Peter in Brownsville for 10 years and Ron Sealy is the foreman of California University of Pennsylvania’s Student Association, Inc., which oversees the university’s athletic fields.
“The support that my husband and I and my family have been getting has been phenomenal and very touching. It’s a beautiful thing. I know this is a very sad time for us, but it’s very nice for us to know we are loved in many, many ways,” she said.
Area residents have formed “Team Livi” to support the family. Family friend Davis Slagle of BeeGraphix in Fredericktown developed an online store to help raise funds for the family and for her medical treatments. He created a logo including Livi’s favorite color, pink, and is selling merchandise including T-shirts, bracelets and face masks.
A take-out spaghetti dinner will also raise funds for the family from noon to 6 p.m. Sept. 12 in St. Peter’s social hall at 118 Church St., Brownsville. The full-course dinner is $8 for a large serving and $4 for small. The event will also feature raffles, basket drawings, a bake sale, tickets with cash prizes and a chance to win a three-minute shopping spree at Riverside Family Market in Grindstone.
For more information, to volunteer or purchase advance tickets, call Holly Swift at 724-984-5847 or hollye1152@hotmail.com; Melissa Ternitsky at 724-208-8223 or mctttct@gmail.com; or Annette Buffer at 724-561-5616 or annettebuffer538@hotmail.com.