Yellowknife girl hopes to be home for Christmas after emergency brain surgery in B.C.

Yellowknife's Maggie Carson is hoping to be home for Christmas after undergoing emergency brain surgery on Dec. 13 at the British Columbia Children's Hospital.

The 12-year-old, Type 1 diabetic was in North Vancouver for a gymnastics tournament on Dec. 11 when she got disoriented and had trouble finishing her sentences. After checking her blood sugar, Maggie's coach called her parents.

"The coach called my wife LeeAnna," said Rod Carson, Maggie's father. "LeeAnna spoke to Maggie and identified right away that there was something wrong and asked the coach to get her to the nearest hospital."

At the Burnaby Hospital, doctors used a CT scan to identify a mass on Carson's left temporal lobe. She was transferred to B.C. Children's Hospital where an MRI confirmed the presence of a large tumour.

"LeeAnna and I got on a plane on Monday afternoon and came down here," Carson said. "We met with the doctors Tuesday and they laid out the best plan, and the plan was to go into brain surgery on Wednesday."

Carson said the surgeon removed 95 per cent of the tumour, which was confirmed by a postoperative MRI.

Recovery going 'really well'

"Maggie is doing well. The recovery is going really well," Carson said. "She is dealing with the pain a lot better on her own, as opposed to being medicated, so that's a good thing."

Maggie is recovering at the Ronald McDonald house in Vancouver while she and her parents await test results on the structure of the tumour.

"It's to determine if it is malignant or benign," Carson said. "We're walking on eggshells waiting to hear. It's been a long weekend."

An online fundraising effort has raised more than $20,000 to help cover costs for Rod and LeeAnna to stay with Maggie as she recovers. The Carson family said they feel blessed to be part of such a caring and compassionate community.

"We just never imagined that in our circumstances that we would be on the receiving end of such generosity. It's unbelievable," Rod Carson said. "We want to send out a huge heartfelt thank-you to everybody. And we hope to be back in Yellowknife for Christmas."