Lemont Girl Battling Brain Tumor Gets 'My Little Pony' Birthday Surprise

Ellie Cuiching, a Lemont girl battling a rare brain tumor, got the birthday surprise of a lifetime Friday thanks to several generous teachers, parents and community members.

Lenore Duffy, Ellie's second-grade teacher at , led a small group in turning her front yard into a "My Little Pony" wonderland after school. Ellie, who officially turned 8 years old Sunday, loves ponies, flowers and the color purple, so the group decorated her yard with colorful signs, ribbons and plenty of "My Little Pony" gifts.

"Ellie and her family have gone through so much. It's really a miracle to see how far she's come since her diagnosis," Duffy said. "I wanted to do something special to celebrate her birthday and give her something to smile about."

In January 2011, doctors discovered a large tumor covering almost the entire right side of Ellie’s brain. The official diagnosis was a Grade II or III pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (PXA), which doctors called “extremely rare.”

After two operations, neurosurgeons at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago were only able to remove 98 percent of the tumor. Ellie, then 6, immediately began chemotherapy treatment, and went on to have her third surgery Sept. 27.

Ellie's mom, Kyle Cuiching, that doctors have yet to find a course of treatment to control the aggressive tumor.

“A good portion of the tumor is still on her brain stem, and we had an MRI that showed it’s still growing,” . “She’s on a new chemo regimen now. We’re just hoping and praying that it treatment works, because we don’t know what happens after this.”

Despite her illness and grueling treatments, Ellie has continued to attend class part-time at Oakwood. On Thursday, she was able to stay the entire day for the first time in nearly a year.

"She has been very brave through this whole thing," Duffy said. "It's been very special for me to have her in class and to be part of her journey."

With the help of kindergarten teacher Adrienne Landgrave—who had Ellie in class and currently teachers her brother, Jake—Duffy collected nearly $2,000 from various teachers, parents and community members who wanted to help the Cuichings.

Two parents from Ellie's class painted several colorful "My Little Pony" and "Happy Birthday" signs for Ellie's lawn, while teachers donated pots of purple flowers. 

Ali Tucker from  created a one-of-a-kind "My Little Pony" cake, as well as well as dozens of cookies she could share with family and friends.

Duffy used part of the donations to purchase several stuffed animals, stickers and toys for Ellie, and even picked up a gift for her brother Jake.

The rest of the money was put into a small basket for Kyle and her husband, Dave, to use toward their rising medical bills.

The biggest surprise of the afternoon—a real-life pony from Kopping Farms in Lemont—arrived shortly after Ellie.

"This whole day has been so incredible and special for Ellie," Kyle said. "I can't say enough about Mrs. Duffy and Mrs. Landgrave and all of the wonderful parents and teachers at their school. They have done so much to make our lives better, and I'm so grateful."

Kyle took to her blog, "Hearts and Love for Ellie," on Saturday to write about her daughter's birthday surprise:

"Never did I dream when I held (Ellie) in my arms eight years ago and they told me she was a healthy girl that she would become sick.  Although this may seem like a nightmare on some days there are days like yesterday that we feel as if we are living a dream. It warms my heart every time I think of how loved Ellie is. Dave and I are so blessed to have Ellie in our lives. 

"We also feel blessed to live in a community that is so caring, loving and supportive. Since the day Ellie was diagnosed it was evident that we had the support of the community, friends and family. In the past year it keeps becoming more and more clear how incredibly supportive everyone has been. Lemont has it struggles, but I wouldn’t live in any other community.  If you ever question why you live in Lemont, come live in my shoes for a day and see how amazing this community is. I am so grateful ... Thank you again to everyone who made Ellie’s birthday so special."

For more on Ellie's story, visit www.loveforellie.com.

Related Stories:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Like what you see? Sign up for our daily email newsletter.

Like us on Facebook for a slightly different take.