JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. — A Jeffersonville family is recovering after a harrowing summer that began with what looked like a stomach bug and ended with a 10-hour brain surgery for their 6-year-old son.
Ronomy Luney’s parents, January and Rob, said they spent three weeks chasing gastrointestinal explanations as their child grew weaker, until a second opinion led to a scan that revealed a dangerous tumor pressing on his brain stem.
“By Saturday, he was unrecognizable,” his mother recalled of the days leading up to his hospitalization. “Screaming, crying—his head hurting, his stomach hurting. At first, we went along with [the diagnoses}, because they’re doctors. What other choice did I have?”
What the family says happened
- Early July: Ronomy became ill at daycare and started vomiting.
- First stops: An urgent care suggested food poisoning. A subsequent visit to another care center pointed to a viral stomach bug; and later at the hospital, constipation.
- Hospital admission: He was admitted and treated for gastrointestinal issues, including an NG tube and a working diagnosis of gastroparesis. His parents say headaches and dizziness were treated as secondary symptoms.
- After discharge: The headaches intensified—short, severe bursts that left him wiped out.
“He was never to the point where I felt safe for him returning to school—or even leaving the hospital,” his mother said…