Caring for Cohen

On Tuesday, July 24th, our world was turned upside down in an instant.  My 7 year old nephew, Cohen Hurt, was diagnosed with cancer....RMS - rhabdomyosarcoma.  It’s a rare , highly malignant tumor located behind the nasal cavity & left eye.  It’s in front of the skull & thankfully not in contact with the brain.  It is about the size of a lime, which is huge for a child’s little head.   Due to the location & this type of cancer’s responsiveness to treatment, it will not be surgically removed.  The Dr says that RMS is very responsive to chemo & radiation, and for that we are thankful!

Cohen just got his port put in, and is scheduled for a Pet Scan tomorrow to make sure the cancer has not spread to any other location....please please pray that this is negative!!  Treatments will begin immediately after port placement.

The Dr, at this point,  has said that Cohen will most likely need treatments for a year, so he has a long road ahead.  We are not sure yet how this will look long term.  Right now, it sounds like they will be staying at St Jude for a while.  That’s why I’m starting this fundraiser.  Michelle, his mom, who is a Respiratory Therapist at MRHC has filed for FMLA to protect her job for 3 months, but she will not be paid during this time.  My brother, Stacy, owns Hurts Construction.  He will try to work as much as he can in between treatments, but their will be lots of work missed & lots of traveling back & forth during this time.  Not to mention, trying to maintain time with their daughter, Channing, who will begin her sophomore year at Pine Grove High School.

We all know it takes both parents income to make it these days.  So I ask you to please consider giving.  I want them to be able to focus on Cohen & his treatment without having to spend a second of that worrying about money.

Thanks in advance!

                                                        Sincerely,
                                                       CoCo’s Aunt Manda