A young Portager has shown an extreme amount of strength in the year of 2021. 7-year-old Elizabeth Willson had to go for surgery in early February to remove a tumour from her brain and thankfully it was a success. Her mother, Katharina Willson, says Elizabeth was very dizzy and had trouble with her balance due to the tumour. She says that really improved this past summer.
"She got on her bike with one training wheel down and, without her knowledge, the second training wheel was put up. She took off, not realizing it and rode her bike for a good 10-15 minutes before she realized," Katharina says. "When we tried to get her to ride her bike the summer before that, she couldn't stay on it for more than 30 seconds. So, her balance has majorly improved. It's not ever going to be completely normal but it is so much better than before."
Katharina says the tumour was about the size of a lemon when Elizabeth went for her surgery in February. Not even one year later, the mother believes she has fully recovered outside of a few minor balance issues.
"Everything is looking fabulous and there have been no changes, which is good," Katharina explains. "Everything is staying the way it was. So, she went for MRIs every 3-4 months and now her next one will be in six months since the last because it is looking so good."
The GoFundMe page for Elizabeth ended up raising much more than the family expected, for which Katharina says they were beyond grateful. She says a lot of other community members helped them out when they were in need.
"It exceeded the amount that we asked for. It was such a blessing," says Katharina. "Other people just gave in other ways, like our church. They gave above and beyond the GoFundMe page. We were very blessed for that."
The mother says they originally asked for $5000 on GoFundMe and notes they went beyond that goal. She adds they basically doubled their original goal once they combined the gracious donation from their church and the money raised online.
It was around this time last year that Katharina first took Elizabeth to this hospital to find out what was wrong. She says, seeing her daughter happy and healthy this holiday season, was the best present she could've ever asked for.