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Violet Bowen loves pretty pink princesses. Her parents say she is a complete girly girl, but this princess is going to have to wait for her crown. Violet is having brain surgery at the end of February.Amanda and Alex Bowen took their 3-year-old daughter to the doctor for a spot on her head. Two days later, they found out it was much more than that.”We were pretty shook up,” Alex said.Violet has an arachnoid cyst on her brain, and her skull is fused together, years before it should be. She was diagnosed with craniosynostosis, a disease that affects one in 2,200.”It could be deadly if we wait any longer because the way they are, the more soft their skull bones and stuff is, and they just heal better,” Amanda said.The Bowens say doctors need to remove the cyst and then Violet’s skull fusion will be fixed after.”The doctor and the surgeon was very confident that this would go well,” Alex said.But those aren’t the only concerns. The family said Violet also needs an MRI to look at a lump on her back.”They don’t know what it is, but it could be entangled in her spine,” Amanda said.”Last time we went into the MRI tunnel, I crawled into the tunnel with her and held her while she was in there,” Alex said.The surgeries need to happen soon or her parents’ said Violet’s symptoms could get worse. They said she complained about not seeing well and they’re worried she could lose her vision.”Part of the reason why this blindsided us so much is because she had been asymptomatic,” Alex said.Throughout this difficult medical journey, the Bowens said the dozens of scans and exams haven’t dimmed Violet’s sparkle. She still dances around to Madonna and she’s excited to go to her appointments.”She even asks. She always says, ‘Oh, I don’t feel good, I need to go to the doctors,’ because she wants stickers,” Amanda said.More stickers are on their way.”She’s very tough,” Alex said. “She will put up with this, and she’ll get through it.” The family wants to encourage other parents to make sure their kids are getting check-ups, even if it doesn’t seem too concerning.”Kids will get cuts and scrapes all the time, but if something is there that’s abnormal, you should probably get it checked just to be on the safe side,” Alex said.The Bowen family said they have a long road ahead of them with more surgeries and Violet will need continuous check-ups until she’s a teenager. During this time, Alex has had to take more time off from work, and the family is asking for help easing financial stress. If you would like to help, you can donate to their SpotFund.Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google Search.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
Violet Bowen loves pretty pink princesses. Her parents say she is a complete girly girl, but this princess is going to have to wait for her crown. Violet is having brain surgery at the end of February.
Amanda and Alex Bowen took their 3-year-old daughter to the doctor for a spot on her head. Two days later, they found out it was much more than that.
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“We were pretty shook up,” Alex said.
Violet has an arachnoid cyst on her brain, and her skull is fused together, years before it should be. She was diagnosed with craniosynostosis, a disease that affects one in 2,200.
“It could be deadly if we wait any longer because the way they are, the more soft their skull bones and stuff is, and they just heal better,” Amanda said.
The Bowens say doctors need to remove the cyst and then Violet’s skull fusion will be fixed after.
“The doctor and the surgeon was very confident that this would go well,” Alex said.
But those aren’t the only concerns. The family said Violet also needs an MRI to look at a lump on her back.
“They don’t know what it is, but it could be entangled in her spine,” Amanda said.
“Last time we went into the MRI tunnel, I crawled into the tunnel with her and held her while she was in there,” Alex said.
The surgeries need to happen soon or her parents’ said Violet’s symptoms could get worse. They said she complained about not seeing well and they’re worried she could lose her vision.
“Part of the reason why this blindsided us so much is because she had been asymptomatic,” Alex said.
Throughout this difficult medical journey, the Bowens said the dozens of scans and exams haven’t dimmed Violet’s sparkle. She still dances around to Madonna and she’s excited to go to her appointments.
“She even asks. She always says, ‘Oh, I don’t feel good, I need to go to the doctors,’ because she wants stickers,” Amanda said.
More stickers are on their way.
“She’s very tough,” Alex said. “She will put up with this, and she’ll get through it.”
The family wants to encourage other parents to make sure their kids are getting check-ups, even if it doesn’t seem too concerning.
“Kids will get cuts and scrapes all the time, but if something is there that’s abnormal, you should probably get it checked just to be on the safe side,” Alex said.
The Bowen family said they have a long road ahead of them with more surgeries and Violet will need continuous check-ups until she’s a teenager. During this time, Alex has had to take more time off from work, and the family is asking for help easing financial stress. If you would like to help, you can donate to their SpotFund.
Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google Search.
NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
