#KaitlandStrong - A Journey to Fight Brain Cancer

Hello Everyone, I am Kaitland's mom, Kelly. We want to take a moment to thank you for reading about our current situation regarding what is going on with our daughter Kaitland. On April 11th Kaitland experienced a seizure requiring her to be transported by ambulance to the hospital. While in the emergency room she suffered another tonic clonic seizure. Within the hour a CT was done and showed a mass on the left frontal lobe of her brain. Having no other symptoms prior to this, this was very unexpected. She was immediately transferred to UPMC Presbyterian under the care of Dr. Zenonos and his Neuro team. On April 15th Kaitland underwent a craniotomy for removal of the mass. Due to the location of the tumor there were concerns about it affecting motor function on the right side of her body, logical function (listening, reading, speaking and writing), her thought, and memory involving words. All of this has been quite taxing on Kaitland, her family and friends. In light of recent events surrounding Covid-19, Kaitland had to endure the first part of her journey alone, as none of us were permitted in the hospital. We were able to communicate via messaging to be able to see her. Post operatively the ICU nurses would use their personal cell phones to FaceTime me so I could see her. The first couple of days were the hardest as Kaitland was unable communicate or express her needs. She had noticeable weakness on the right side. As she slowly progressed they were able to discharge her to my care on the 17th. We moved into Family House Shadyside to let Kaitland take the necessary time to heal. Getting Kaitland immediately home proved to be a challenge as it would require her to be able to walk 5 flights of stairs into her apartment. Kaitland has made tremendous progress since her surgery and is currently back home. She has gone from a slow shuffling walk with weakness on the right to ambulating without any difficulty and being able to tackle those stairs. Her speech has gone from only being able to answer yes or no questions back to her full speech. She still has what she refers to as "brain farts", (lol) trying to find the right words for her response. She continues to have what is called aphasia, which makes it difficult for her to find the words and express her thoughts and concerns. But she is making tremendous strides in her recovery. Kaitland has been out of work since the 11th and her accruals will run out on May 8th. She will be able to stay on her insurance for a short while after, but will have no income coming in after her accruals run out. She currently does not have short term disability. Family will be taking turns coming to Pittsburgh to help out during her healing process, as she cannot be left alone for several weeks. On April 28th the final pathology came back and Kaitland has a Grade 3 Anaplastic Astrocytoma. The doctors feel her prognosis is good and that she should respond well with chemo and radiation. However being cancerous and a Grade 3 they have stated there is a strong possibility of reoccurence. Kaitland is currently under the care of Dr. Mantica, her Neuro Oncologist and Dr. Flickinger her Radiation Oncologist. She will begin chemo and radiation on May 11th. Her copays and medical expenses will be excessive. Her insurance covers some but not all of what will be required. Currently her monthly chemo copay is $300, and she will be required to be on it for a year. She will have copays for each doctor and radiation visit (5 times a week times 6 weeks), as well as hospital expenses incurred, and her monthly household bills totalling approximately $1000. Kaitland is getting married in July to her fiance, Tyler, and any savings they had, has been put toward their wedding. Any amount donated would be greatly appreciated by Kaitland, Tyler and her family as we progress through this difficult challenge. Please keep positive thoughts and prayers for Kaitland coming this way. We will continue to keep you posted on her progress on this page. Please feel free to reach out at anytime as I know she would love to hear from you. We thank you kindly, Kelly (otherwise known as mom ❤)