Prayers Sought For 10-Year-Old Girl
Amanda Bridgman, Staff Writer
Saturday, April 3, 2021 5:00 AM
Heaven is being flooded with prayers for 10-year-old Payton Slaymaker.
Payton’s mother, Kim Slaymaker, said Payton will be 21 months post-diagnosis April 11.
Payton was diagnosed in 2019 with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a brain tumor found in a part of the brain stem called the pons. The pons control essential bodily functions such as a heartbeat, breathing, swallowing, eye movement, eyesight and balance.
Because the tumor is on the brain stem, it is inoperable. DIPG commonly affects school-age children between 4 and 11 years old. There are roughly 300 cases of DIPG diagnosed a year.
Payton has gone through 40 rounds of radiation and participated in two different clinical trials, Kim said. The first round of radiation shrunk the tumor 44%.
“So we were very thankful for that, because some kiddos don’t get that fortunate,” Kim said.
In January, the Slaymakers – mom, Kim
