Bridger's Brain Surgery

Hi friends and family. We have been encouraged to reach out, share our story, and ask for help as we prepare for this challenging time before us.

As many of you may know Bridger has a Brain Tumor. He has a Pilocytic  Astrocytoma to be specific. Three years ago he went through emergency brain surgery when it hemorrhaged. At the time they were not able to remove much due to it’s delicate location. Unfortunately, Bridger is about to go through Brain surgery again on August 19th. His tumor has grown a fair bit, and is causing significant enough symptoms as well that it must now be surgically addressed. During surgery they will try to remove as much as they safely can. However, it is a risky surgery because of the tumor’s location near to the Motor Cortex, which effects Bridger’s ability to move the right side of his body. Partial paralysis is a risk, but we are optimistic all will go well. His UCSF surgeon is brilliant and one of the best! However, Brain surgery is quite difficult to recover from no matter what. Last time it took him around 4 months to get back to work 18 hours a week, and it also took a little time for him to re-gain the ability to walk unaided.

At the encouragement of our friends and family, we are asking for help given that Bridger will need some recovery time post-surgically before he can return to work. He may even need a fair bit of Physical Therapy or Occupational Therapy. My sister and I will be staying in an Air Bnb to be with Bridger during his surgery and the days following while he is at UCSF in San Francisco. Prior to his surgery we have been buying a few needed items like an automatic pill dispenser, medical supplies, etc. As I think of the costs of gas, food, lodging, and medical bills we will be incurring in the near future, everything feels pretty overwhelming to say the least.

This is why we are asking for help. If many come together and give just a little I believe it can add up and make a difference fairly quickly. If you feel led to help us on this journey we will be ever so appreciative!

I, or another family or friend, will be updating this page before, during and after Bridger’s surgery as able so you can follow along with his progress. Thank you again!

With love~ Ali and Bridger.