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Home for the holiday Photo by Steve Johnson Courtney Allen, 7, of Medford works on a book of stickers with her mother, Teresa Ochoa, on Thanksgiving Day. Courtney, who has been undergoing treatment for cancer at a Portland hospital, was able to spend the holiday with her family. Thankful family gets time with cancer patient, 7 By JESSICA SMITH Sitting on the sofa, perched between two teenage boys, Courtney Allen is holding court. The little "princess" -- a pet name given to her by family and friends -- is looking coyly about the room with big blue eyes, telling stories and showing off her sticker collection. But where a bejeweled crown should sit is a pale blue and baby pink scarf, hiding wisps of hair the lightest shade of blonde. The 7-year-old Medford girl is a patient at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, where she is being treated for a malignant brain tumor. "Sometimes I'm scared, like when they give me a shot. It hurts and I don't like it," says Courtney, inspecting the star she's drawn with six points. "Nothing makes me feel better." But Courtney is feeling better today -- a day when no one sticks her with any needles. She's glad she's home for Thanksgiving. So are her family and friends. "This is one of the most thankful Thanksgivings we've had and it's because Courtney is with us," says Teresa Ochoa, Courtney's mother. "She's a little miracle baby." It was about three months ago when Courtney was taken to Doernbecher, dehydrated and weighing only 26 pounds. Her frail body couldn't keep food or liquids down and she suffered amnesia-like symptoms -- to the point where she couldn't recognize Teresa. Two days after Courtney was admitted, doctors said she would need surgery to remove the tumor that had spread in her brain. Doctors removed 70 percent of the tumor in early September, but it grew back just two weeks later. Another surgery was performed and Courtney began the first of four chemotherapy treatments to rid her body of cancer. "You wouldn't believe what Courtney's been through," says Sonja Fulton, a family friend. "But she's never complained. She's been so sweet, so patient and so loving. That's why I think she's an angel." Doctors gave Courtney a "central line" for her medications and her diminishing appetite led them to put her on a feeding tube. She carries a blue pack with her at all times. The first chemotherapy treatment caused swelling in Courtney's brain and led to a 10-day blindness spell. "For a week and a half she just lay there, she didn't do anything. She wouldn't talk, squeeze my hand or shake her head yes or no," says Teresa, watching Courtney from across the room. But Courtney regained her vision, and doctors now say the Wilson Elementary School first-grader has an 80 percent chance of beating cancer. The tumor is shrinking and she has put on 17 pounds, Teresa says. Courtney and Teresa will return to Portland on Sunday to begin the third round of chemotherapy, which lasts two weeks. The financial strain of Courtney's treatments has been somewhat offset by the $7,500 friends raised at an auction in mid-November and by donations to a fund established in her name. But the effects of the cancer, the chemotherapy and the radiation treatment still to come, will have a lasting effect on Courtney and her family, Teresa says. Teresa and her husband, Israel, are already struggling to keep their family running smoothly. Teresa has spent much of the past few months by Courtney's side at Doernbecher, while Israel has been mother and father to their other children, 11-year-old Andrea and 9-year-old Robert. Once Courtney completes her treatments, she will need to monitor her eating habits carefully and take medication that will help her regulate her development and growth. There are visible reminders, too, that Courtney must learn to live with. "One day, I went in the bathroom and I saw the scar on my forehead" from the surgeries, Courtney says, her eyes shining bright with tears she holds back. "It made me cry." But the family's hope has prevailed over their despair, Teresa says. And the support they've received from friends and the community is not just a small thing they'll be giving thanks for this year, she adds. Courtney -- a pizza lover and a fan of the Backstreet Boys -- is already making plans for the future and the people she's come to miss the most. "I want to go to Disney World. And you know who I'm going to bring? My family." (Donations to the Courtney Allen Fund may be made at any branch of Western Bank.) Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA