[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15057]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO CADE SPINELLO

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEN CALVERT

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 6, 2011

  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to an 
incredible young boy, Cade Spinello, from my congressional district who 
has faced so many challenges in his young life. Cade's story came to me 
from a family friend of the Spinello's and I am honored to share it 
here. In 2009, Cade's parents, Michael and Erin, noticed that Cade's 
eyes were not lining up normally when he tried to focus. The doctor 
told the Spinello's that little Cade had lazy eye and prescribed a 
patch over the good eye to strengthen the weak eye. After a year of 
using the patch, Cade's condition worsened, and after a closer look the 
doctor realized that Cade's optical nerve was inflamed. After an MRI, 
the doctor told Cade's parents the devastating news: Cade had a tumor 
the size of an egg at the bottom of his brain right behind his right 
eye. All of this was happening as Erin gave birth to their second 
child, Lucy.
  After the discovery of the tumor, Cade was immediately sent to 
surgery where surgeons were able to remove 30% of the tumor and provide 
much relief to Cade. The Spinello's, and all their friends and family, 
were relieved to hear that the tumor was benign. Unfortunately, as Cade 
was recovering from surgery, he suffered a stroke that paralyzed the 
right side of his body and left him without speech.
  Over a year has passed since the surgery and the stroke and the only 
word to describe Cade's recovery is ``miracle.'' This brave young boy 
has overcome challenges most of us never face in a lifetime. He is 
walking and talking again. He has participated in a T-ball league. All 
this while going through a second surgery that saved his right eye and 
chemotherapy that has significantly reduced the size of his tumor.
  The Spinello family has endured through so many hardships yet they 
face each day with optimism and with their deep faith in God. The 
community of Ladera Ranch has rallied around them and held fundraisers 
to help pay the medical bills. Through it all stands Cade Spinello, a 
testament to love, courage, and perserverance.
  Today I ask the U.S. House of Representatives to take a moment and 
honor this incredible young boy and his family. I ask that all of us 
keep Cade, and the entire Spinello family, in our prayers as they 
continue down the path of recovery. I look forward to the day, not so 
long from now, that I will stand up here and congratulate Cade on his 
high school graduation and all the accomplishments that he will achieve 
in his life. For now, I simply stand in awe of a young boy who has 
conquered more in his young life than most do in an entire lifetime.

                          ____________________