Max Meza’s illness began when he had a stroke before he was even born. Through a series of medical events, the Aberdeen family learned the youngster, now 8, has neurofibromatosis Type 2, a genetic condition that causes non-cancerous tumors to grow on the nervous system.
In July, Max, whose full name is Maximiliano, had one tumor in his brain removed at Children’s Hospital in Seattle. He needs to have two more removed or he could lose his sight and hearing, his mother said Tuesday. There are other tumors farther down his spine that also need monitoring.
This Friday and Saturday, the family will hold a rummage sale at the American Legion Hall, in Aberdeen to help defray the cost of travel and staying in Seattle. His mother Viki Meza works as a supervisor at Grocery Outlet and father Juan Meza works at the Westport Shipyard and together they make too much money to qualify for SSI, she said.
Her sister, Tara Hernandez, has also started “The Max Meza Benefit Fund” at Anchor Bank to help defray medical costs not covered by Juan Meza’s health insurance.
Max’s parents discovered he had had the stroke when they took him to Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma when he had his first seizure at two and a half, his mother said.
He had another one a year later to the day. He told his mother the house was falling. Later, Children’s Hospital in Seattle, consulting on the case, noticed the tumors.
A new MRI was taken in April of this year and revealed not one but three tumors, including one behind his right eye, where he has already lost sight, his mother said. Max has also lost some hearing and may have to have a cochlear implant, she said.
His neurologist at Children’s, Manuel Ferreira Jr., studied under the doctor who discovered the gene that causes the disease, Meza said. “He told us he would treat Max like his own child,” she said. She may be the carrier, she did not know until he was sick that a cousin has the Type 1 version of the disease, she added.
“We never even knew,” she said. They had no idea either parent was a carrier. She and Juan Meza tried for 14 years to conceive and Max is her miracle baby, she said.
Her employer has been outstanding in helping her take care of Max, who will enter third grade at Aberdeen’s A.J. West in fall. She married Juan, who she met through his cousin in Raymond, and is a graduate of Hoquaim High School, class of 1990. “We just always have lived here, we have never left,” she said.
Her sister, Tara Hernandez, and brother-in-law Jose Hernandez have been very helpful with chores from creating the Facebook page “Prayers for Team Max” to rides to Seattle to medical appointments. Jose works third shift and often drove her with no sleep, she said.
Meza is home on leave taking care of Max since his surgery in mid-July. His healing is prolonged because he scratched the wound open in his sleep. She cleans it twice a day to make sure no infection sets in.
After several appointments, more surgeries will follow another MRI in late September. Max may lose the right eye to be replaced with a glass one, his mother said.
He hasn’t let it deter him from playing baseball, which the doctors approved. They told the Mezas to let him keep doing what he was already doing, though they did not want him to start any new sports, she said. Max played T-Ball in Aberdeen Little League and is in AA ball now. “He plays really well for a guy with just one eye,” she said.
If he misses too much school after the other surgeries, A.J. West will send a tutor to help him stay abreast of his schoolwork, Meza said.
She is grateful for his daycare giver “Grandma Pat,” to Grays Harbor Historical Seaport which offered him a trip aboard a tall ship and for his family for making sure he got to visit Great Wolf Lodge recently because they were able to purchase discounted vouchers.
There will be baked goods at the rummage sale. Her garage is packed, so is her sister’s and there are 20 boxes in her mother’s storage unit. To donate visit the Facebook page “Prayers for Team Max” or make a donation directly to The Max Meza Benefit Fund at Anchor Bank.
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