Mason’s Legacy
In December 2016, Mason came home from school sick with flu-like symptoms. By Christmas, Mason was throwing up every day. After numerous doctor visits, he was diagnosed with anxiety. However, our gut told us it was something much worse. Mason wasn’t eating, was losing weight, and started to go numb on the right side of his face. He was terrified to leave his bed because he would throw up. We finally demanded a CT scan, and on January 10, 2017, our worst nightmare came true. The doctor said, “Your son has a large brain tumor, and it looks like cancer.” I’ll never forget those words. In that moment, we thought we were going to lose our son.
Next thing you know, we were in an ambulance being rushed to UCSF where our lives changed forever. Mason was given medication and steroids to help ease his pain as we prepared for surgery. The next day, he went through an MRI which confirmed a large tumor near his brainstem that would require a miracle to remove. The chief surgeon, Dr. Gupta of UCSF, completed emergency surgery on January 13, 2017. It was the longest day of our lives. We had to watch our scared 10-year-old little boy go into the surgery room, where he underwent a 14-hour brain surgery. We prayed all day for a miracle.
When we got the results that night, it was the best outcome we could have ever hoped for! The entire tumor was removed with minimal nerve damage. The surgeon predicted he should make almost a full recovery and be about the same ol’ Mason. We shared the news with family and friends in the waiting room as we cried and celebrated.
The biopsy confirmed that Mason’s diagnosis was Ependymoma Type A—an extremely rare and aggressive malignant brain tumor. During recovery from surgery, Mason battled extreme pain and suffering like we had never seen. The medications made him extremely violent, caused hallucinations, and he rarely slept. This continued for weeks. Mason had to stay at UCSF for almost two months while he went through daily rehab to relearn how to talk, walk, eat, and much more.
In mid-February, Mason began radiation treatment five days a week for six weeks. He made a comeback to the baseball field that June and, after only three games, was back on the mound. Things seemed to be going well. His MRIs every three months showed no recurring tumors—until April 2, 2018. We were devastated to hear that the tumor had recurred. The MRI revealed that the tumor was in an even worse spot and would be too risky for surgery. Dr. Gupta recommended Gamma Knife surgery, a very potent radiation beam to basically burn the tumor in hopes of killing it. In mid-May of 2018, Mason had the surgery and, amazingly, we were able to bring him home that day without any side effects.
UCSF continued to monitor the second tumor every three months. In May 2019, we were shocked when his MRI revealed growth in the tumor that had previously received Gamma Knife surgery. Mason went home extremely devastated. We were all numb. Mason’s medical team requested a rescan in eight weeks to ensure the tumor was, in fact, growing and not just changing form.
Unfortunately, on July 29, 2019, the MRI detected that the tumor had almost doubled in size. Mason was scheduled for surgery seven days later. On August 6, 2019, he underwent a second brain surgery. After eight hours, the surgeon was able to remove the entire tumor once again. Mason’s recovery went very well, and he was discharged from the hospital five days after surgery.
In November 2019, Mason started complaining of back pain. His scans didn’t detect anything concerning, so they continued to watch his spine every three months. Finally, a scan in July 2020 detected what we already suspected—two tumors in his lower spine. They also found two new spots in his brain. Mason had surgery in September to remove the two tumors in his spine. During surgery, they found a malignant substance running throughout his spine that they couldn’t remove. It was recommended that he receive full brain and spine proton radiation. We had to relocate down south for three months for this treatment.
Mason lost his hair, was extremely sick, threw up several times a day, and lost significant weight. For treatment, his head was locked to a table for 45 minutes while feeling extremely ill—sometimes even needing to take a break to throw up. Treatment ended in December 2020, and we returned home. Mason remained sick for months. In April 2021, his symptoms increased to the point of being hospitalized. It was detected that the radiation had caused severe necrosis (swelling) in his brain. Mason was put on a high dose of steroids and began bi-weekly Avastin infusions.
In February 2022, Mason developed a severe infection in his right kidney (suspected to be from chronic steroid use), which required emergency surgery. He stayed in the hospital for almost a week and needed another surgery six weeks later to remove a stent that was placed to help drain the infection.
In May 2022, despite his ongoing pain, Mason was determined to participate in an inpatient intensive rehabilitation program where he stayed in the hospital for five weeks to work on his mobility. This program helped jumpstart his goal of walking, but progress has been slow, and we continue daily outpatient rehabilitation.
Mason continues to battle extreme effects of radiation necrosis and has two remaining tumors in his brain that are being closely monitored (one is inside his brainstem). His daily struggles include numbness and nerve pain on his entire left side, paralysis on the right side of his face, difficulty swallowing, hearing loss in his right ear, risk of losing vision in his right eye (it was recently sutured shut to try to heal the cornea), loss of mobility (he’s dependent on a wheelchair), osteonecrosis in both shoulders and his right thigh/knee, and speech difficulties. Mason is in pain every day. We try to manage it with medications, but some days are harder than others. He has been on hospice care since July 2021. He receives quarterly MRIs to monitor for changes.
His MRI on May 9, 2023, revealed the cancer had returned—both in his brain and spine. Mason had already received all the radiation he could. He was enrolled in a clinical trial that only 25 people in the world were participating in. The many appointments weighed heavily on his mind and body, but he wanted to continue fighting, and we stood behind him 100%. Mason continued this treatment for nine weeks.
Then, on July 24, 2023, an MRI showed a huge tumor in his spine pressing on his spinal cord that required emergency surgery. Mason had been complaining of back pain, but we never imagined this. On July 27, he had spinal surgery to remove most of the tumor. The surgeon said that any further tugging could have had a bad outcome. We were sent home to recover and consider our next steps.
Meanwhile, we learned about a treatment not yet approved by the FDA but that had shown success for various medical issues: stem cell therapy. It was far less invasive than any treatment Mason had previously endured and came with minimal side effects. It sounded like a miracle—but came with a $15,000 price tag, not covered by insurance. We were able to save enough for Mason’s first treatment on September 11. If it works, he’ll need numerous additional treatments. Each will inject new cells that continue attacking the bad ones.
Unfortunately, in October 2023, the tumor that was resected in July grew back twice as big. Mason had to undergo eight more radiation treatments to his spine. After extensive research, we found a chemotherapy combination that had shown success and presented it to our oncologist, who agreed to prescribe it. Mason has been on this regimen since then. He had his second stem cell therapy in March 2024. Despite several tumors remaining in his brain and spine, they have all been stable since October 2023.
Sadly, in June 2024, the tumor in Mason’s spine began growing again, causing more pain. To manage it, he underwent five more radiation treatments. During these, Mason became very ill and was hospitalized on July 7, 2024. It was determined that Mason’s lungs were failing. After much thought and consideration, we decided to let Mason’s body do what it needed to do and to no longer intervene.
Mason passed away on July 18, 2024, in the loving arms of his mother, father, and sister.
Despite everything he went through, Mason remained positive and had many passions he was motivated to pursue. His biggest passion was helping others. As weather permitted, he held lemonade stands for children facing similar battles. He was able to bless seven families (so far) with an average of $5,000 each. Because these were so successful, we opened our nonprofit foundation, Mason’s Mission, so we can help even more families in need.
We will always keep Mason’s legacy alive by continuing to share his story and help others in any way we can. 💛
—The Ferrulli Family
#TeamMason
Our Donation Story
Mason was passionate about helping others, so we know with certainty that he would want nothing more than to support further research through his donations.
