My daughter Cadence was born August 22, 2005.  Since my wife is a type 1 diabetic we have monitored or kids to see if they will turn into diabetics also.  My wife turned diabetic at the age of ten, and so did my oldest daughter.  We were hoping that we would have some luck and it would pass by Cadence.  The tests cam back negative for several years until 3 months ago when we got the results from the doctor telling us she has tested positive for 2 out of 5 makers for diabetes.  Then two months ago she came to us saying her throat hurt.  We felt her throat for swollen lymph nodes and then looked at her and saw a baseball size mass right below her chin.  We immediately set up appointments and then had ultrasounds and blood draws done on her.  The results were what we had feared but they could not be positive without a biopsy.  We then we're directed down to Loma Linda Hospital to where we would go and have the biopsies done.  After arriving at the hospital we were soon meet by the nurse, who immediately calmed my daughter of any fears she might have had and some of ours.  We then were met by the doctor doing the biopsies and also the anesthesiologist.  Both of which were really active in talking with my daughter and making sure she want scared.  Well the results confirmed our fears and Cadence did not take it well at all, along withe the rest of us.  Multinodular enlarged tumor cells with Stage 3 Grave's Disease on the right and stage 2 on the left.  Treatment possibilities were: 1) let it go and biopsy it every month with ultrasounds and blood draws, 2)remove the right side leaving the left with biopsies, ultrasounds and blood draws to flow, 3) remove the whole thyroid trying to leave the parathyroid for the hormones and then doing an ultrasound, blood draw and a biopsy 6 months later to see if they have gotten all of the margins so there would be no regrowth.  Well as a parent, these are choices that I do not wish for anyone to have to go through.  Risks versus benefits is what it came down to and then what we thought would be best for our growing daughter.  We have chosen to remove the whole thing, yes I know the risks, I am a surgical scrib nurse and not only have I scrubbed in for many of these cases but I have also assisted the Dr's on 100s of them.  My wife is a labor and delivery nurse so we are both well aware of the risks of surgery.  Anatomy, nerves, major blood vessels, disease process possible thyroid storms, some of you might not know about what these are but take a minute and Google it. This is not what you want for your 9 year old.  So right now we are traveling to and from Loma Linda in Los Angeles from Wasco which is North of Bakersfield and about 3 1/2 hours from the hospital for consults with the doctors and possible outcomes and much more to prepare my daughter and us of what to do after surgery and that she will be hospitalized up to a week afterwards.  This was not my first option because this is not how I was raised nor how I raised my family.  I was told about this by many friends in one of my Facebook groups and I can't thank them enough.  Costs are increasing more and more when we go down there.  The kicker, is that I am also out of work do to a work injury and I myself have no income coming in.  I was and still am trying to sell things that I own.  I was told that this could help with that and relieve some of the stress due to the financial burden and increased medical expenses.  So here it is, the surgery and the hospital stay alone will cost around $50,000.  We do have insurance and will have to pay 20% of it.  Due to working at a sister hospital although I am on medical leave they said a portion might be written off for the hospital but the surgeon and anesthesia fees they cannot.  The consults, hotel stays, food and gas are more expenses and they just seem to increase each time we go down.  I don't mind selling everything in my house to give my family what they need or to get them better but if I am able to receive any relief at all, that would be great.  So I am trying to raise around $9000 to help pay for everything, it probably won't cover it all but it is a start and any help would be appreciated.  I want to thank you all for reading this and on a good note we were told that the diabetic markers could be from the thyroid and after removing the thyroid there could be a possibility she might not get diabetes.  Wouldn't that be awesome, we have our fingers crossed.  My prayers and love from my family and me go out to everyone and I want to thank you all in advance.  A loving father and husband in need of help. Thanks