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Ariz. (13 News) – An 11-year-old Tucson boy is being treated at Banner Diamond Children’s Medical Center after being diagnosed with idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease
Gio was transferred to Banner after undergoing tests and scans at Tucson Medical Center. His mother, Patricia Cruz, said his condition changed quickly
Cruz said Gio was dancing, smiling and playing baseball in May
“In May for his sister’s birthday, they had him and he was dancing and to look from May to June, it was just a huge transition. It was very hard,” Cruz said
Cruz said she was picking Gio up from his sister’s house after work when he began complaining of chest pain
“He was saying, ‘mom my chest hurts, my chest hurts’ and I was like, ‘what’s wrong?’ and he was just complaining,” Cruz said
Cruz said the pain escalated quickly
“From one minute to the next, he was screaming, sweating in pain, he was complaining about his back. Right away I rushed him to TMC,” Cruz said
Gio underwent tests and scans at Tucson Medical Center and was sent home after a week without a diagnosis. Cruz said his condition worsened
“All he wanted to do was sleep, and I was like this isn’t good. Then he started throwing up profusely, and then his cheeks if you saw the pictures they would just come out red,” Cruz said
Gio returned to Tucson Medical Center and was later transferred to Banner, where specialists diagnosed him with idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease
The disease is a rare immune system disorder that causes lymph nodes to swell and can trigger inflammation throughout the body
“His is multicentric, so it’s all of his lymph nodes. There’s a Castlemans to where if it’s one lymph node they can surgically remove it, but his is multicentric to where it’s all over his body,” Cruz said
The cause of the disease is unknown, and it damages organs including the liver, kidneys and bone marrow
Gio is currently receiving IL-6-directed therapy, high-dose IV steroids and dialysis. Cruz said she does not know how long Gio will remain hospitalized or how he will respond to treatment
“They want answers from me when I don’t even know what to say or what’s going on,” Cruz said
Cruz has not left Gio’s side over the last few weeks. She said she does not know how much longer he will be hospitalized or how much work she will need to miss
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family with Gio’s medical bills. A link to the fundraiser is here
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