Michael’s Medical Funds

Late May early June, my brother Michael started having back pain that would travel to different areas of his body. He made many visits to his doctor and the ER but they kept telling him it was simple nerve pain.
A month later, the pain grew more and more intense. The doctor finally ordered a CAT scan in July, which showed a small tumor on his adrenal gland. The doctor encouraged him to see an endocrinologist, but the downside to that was that the first appointment available was until the end of October. As the pain grew worse, Michael continued going to his family doctor and, on occasion, to the ER, but to no avail; they kept sending him home, encouraging him to wait for his appointment with the endocrinologist.
In early October he was in so much pain that he was no longer able to walk. Because of this new symptom, he thought it was wise to visit his family doctor once again. Upon visiting, he found out that his doctor was unavailable, so he saw doctor that was filling in for his family doctor. The new doctor, upon examining him, spotted right away that something was wrong. As a result, he sent Michael back to the ER, ordered a MRI, and demanded that they not send him home. The MRI showed that the small tumor that was detected on his adrenal gland in July had now grown into a larger tumor by early October and had spread to his spine, which resulted in his inability to walk. The images further showed lesions to his bones, skull, ribs, and pelvis.
After three biopsies and conformation from the Mayo Clinic, my brother Michael he was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, which is a very rare cancer found in small children under the age of five. Oddly enough Michael is 37.
Currently, my brother is still unable to walk, and continues to deal with the severe pain that comes with this disease. Because of this, he has not been able to work for some time now and is struggling with paying his medical bills. Cancer is a very expensive disease and even with his current insurance the bills are starting to accumulate. This Go Fund Me account is to help Michael with his medical bills and his cost of living so that he has a chance of fighting this disease without the additional anxieties of financial difficulties.