Kaelyn Hazelwood Brain Cancer Fund
Kaelyn, our firstborn and only baby girl is 4 months old. Friday, August 21st Kaelyn began acting very tired and sleepy, not eating well, and began throwing up her bottles. This continued late into Saturday evening when she had an especially scary choking episode that led Mommy to take her to a hospital minutes away. They checked Kaelyn out and said she was fine, it was just gas. Mommy went home feeling like she overreacted.
The next day Kaelyn was still not eating, and as lethargic as ever. Mommy felt something was wrong despite what the ER staff and doctors told her, and she decided to call Cook Children's nurseline. Based on the information Mommy gave the nurses they told her to bring Kaelyn to the ER within an hour.
When Mommy and Daddy arrived at the ER they gave the staff the same medical history they had 12 hours before during the last ER trip. Based on that information they immedicately performed a CT scan on Kaelyn. Within half an hour the results were back and they were devastating.
Mommy and Daddy learned their little girl had a 4 cm tumor on her brain. The tumor was causing lots of problems — swelling of her brain, excessive fluid, her plates were too far apart and her head was growing way too fast. Cook Children's team dove into action. That afternoon they made arrangements to move the neurosurgeon's cases around for the following day (Monday, August 24th), so that they could operate on her immediately.
The surgery lasted 11 hours. The longest day in Mommy and Daddy's life. Kaelyn had family and friends praying for her all over the world. Daddy jumped to answer the phone for hourly updates and the waiting room would go silent as they all waited to hear the latest news. Finally, they said the surgery was a success, we got it all. Tears of joy were upon every eye. We had prayed so fervently and the Lord had listend to our call.
Mommy and Daddy (and family) wish that removing the tumor would be the end, and that everything would go back to normal. But that's not the way it works. Our strong, brave little girl has jumped the first hurdle, but there are many, many more hurdles. We have a long road to recovery, but we know with God's help that we will get there.
On September 1, it was confirmed that her tumor is a Choroid Plexus Carcinoma, a cancerous brain tumor. On September 8, we got the news that Kaelyn was accepted into a clinical trial at St. Jude's Research Hospital. On September 16 she began chemotherapy. We will be in Memphis, TN at St. Jude receiving treatment until as early as January 2016 to as late as March 2016.
FINANCIAL NEEDS:
Some have said, "She's a St. Jude patient, why do you need a fundraiser?" This GoFundMe was started prior to the cancer diagnosis and Kaelyn's acceptance into the clinical trial at St. Jude. To help clarify:
WHAT ST JUDE PAYS FOR:
St. Jude pays for a lot - way more than anyone else. They pay for her treatment, medications, and housing. They paid for one plane ticket here (not Daddy's), and $100 a week for groceries.
WHAT ST JUDE DOES NOT PAY FOR:
Kaelyn had 2 ER visits and brain surgery in Texas. St Jude does not pay for this because none of it was done at St. Jude's. Mommy and Daddy are in Memphis, TN full-time for Kaelyn's care. That means our mortgage, car payments, utilities and other financial commitments aren't getting paid without support. When we return home, Kaelyn will be on oral chemo for 6 months. She will also have weekly doctor visits (at a minimum), and most likely multiple therapies a week. We do not know at this time if Mom will be able to resume work when we return home.
Our priority is helping Kaelyn beat this cancer. Unfortunately, the world keeps spinning even though our lives feel as though we have frozen .That means that normal every day things we still have to figure out. What we really need and want are PRAYERS. But if you feel led to financially contribute we are beyond grateful. May the Lord God Almighty bless you.
FB: www.facebook.com/prayersforkaelynhazelwood
Instagram: prayersforkaelyn
