On April 21, 2006, Christina was diagnosed with a Craniopharyngioma, which is a brain tumor that develops near the pituitary gland. The family was devastated with the news and afraid to think of all the possible complications. They worried about the quality of life Christina was going to have after the surgery.  Mike and Adriana Reyes relied heavily on the strength of their daughters, Christina and Natalie who both showed incredible maturity during these horrible times. 

On July 5, 2006, three months after Christina received this devastating news, she underwent a nine hour operation to remove the tumor. The surgeon, Dr. Morcos, from Jackson Memorial Hospital, did a craniotomy thru two entry points in the scull. One was thru the upper right side of her head and the other thru the orbital bone above the right eye. Christina spent 5 days in intensive care and another 10 days in a private room. After countless I.V. tubes and medications and a few scary moments, she was sent home. The operation was a success, and the tumor was removed completely. Her recovery has been a bit difficult yet successful. There are many side effects that she will endure for the rest of her life. Several of them are being treated with medication.

Mike and Adriana are proud to say that the strength and unity of their family and friends, along with their strong faith, kept the family going.  Natalie gave emotional support and Christina kept everyone calm with her great outlook and attitude. She was very positive throughout the whole experience.

Currently, Christina is recovering very well and has to continue taking hormone replacement medications due to the fact that her pituitary gland is not working properly. She has also lost her peripheral vision on both eyes which she is learning to adjust to. Amazingly, she is back to doing most of the activities that she did before surgery.

Christina on La Trinquena

that Christina found the Brain Tumor Foundation for Children, located in Atlanta, Georgia. She learned that they had a special fund to help needy families with financial assistance when their children were being treated for brain or spinal cord tumors. Christina recalls, “They told me that if I raised money in the Miami area, we could use all of it to help the families of children treated righthere at Miami Children’s Hospital.  This sounded like a perfect match to us.  The Brain Tumor Foundation for Children was thrilled for me to start a South Florida Chapter of their organization.  I decided to call it Christina’s Kidz.

Christina Reyes

On January 28, 2007, Christina, her Father Mike and Sister Natalie ran in the ING Miami Half-Marathon as a fundraiser for the Brain Tumor Foundation for Children. Christina has been a runner for school since about 6th grade and decided that running a half marathon would be a great way to get herself back into shape. She stated, “I also wanted it to be an inspiration and give hope to families and children. I wanted them to believe that anything was possible by seeing me run 13 miles just 6 months after my brain surgery.” They ran the half-marathon in 2 hours and 29 minutes making the entire family very proud in so many ways.  The total monies raised by Christina and her family is currently $69,330.00 to date, and they hope to continue to raise a lot more.

Christina proudly comments, “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would raise so much money. My family, friends, the Paso Fino community, and so many people I didn’t even know have donated so much. It’s inspiring to know that I have touched so many lives in such a positive way.” She is proudest of making her dream of starting a foundation come true. Christina’s Kidz is already helping families at Miami Children’s Hospital. Checks have been issued to three different families for mortgage payments, utility bills and car repairs so that the can spend time at the hospital with their children. Christina spoke recently at the Miami-Dade commissioners meeting and Commissioner Sally Heyman presented her with a Key to the City. Almost every commissioner has donated to Christina’s Kidz.

The Reyes family advice for anyone going thru a challenging time in their lives such as this, is to never loose hope, always keep the faith and lean heavily on your family and friends. They recommend that you find success stories of others that have gone thru the same situations and talk to them. Finding support groups near you is also a great help.