Burch Family Brain Cancer Operation
Donation protected
The Burch Family needs your support. Evan, Ashly, and their two daughters, Shelby and Maggie, are doing all they can to fight the brain tumor that is one of the most rare of all cancers. Ashly works with special needs children in the public school system, and Evan has his own lawn care business. They send Maggie to Kenwood Montessori school and are so supportive and generous with their time. Last year, even after his diagnosis, Evan would wake up before the sun came up to come scrape off and salt the sidewalks that lead into the Montessori school.
Evan's tumor was discovered after he had a couple of bouts of double vision, both lasting about 2 weeks. Once in November of last year and the second in January of 2016. Evan saw several doctors until finally an eye specialist ordered an MRI, which revealed an abnormal lesion at his brain stem. They saw many neurosurgeons, locally and further away. They learned the that the lesion was a chordoma - a rare (one in a million) malignant cancer. After researching and speaking to several doctors and people affected by chordomas, they decided to have surgery at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center with Dr. Paul Gardner- a chordoma expert. On June 9th 2016, just 1 day after, their daughter Shelby turned 1 and 3 days after their daughter Maggie turned 4, Evan had surgery. Dr. Gardner was able to remove the tumor!
Evan was discharged two days later but never bounced back. He had terrible headaches and stopped eating and drinking. A week after the first surgery, they rushed him to the ER. He was sent to the operating room for emergency surgery to repair a spinal fluid leak at the sight of the surgery. He was in the hospital a week before being discharged. They returned home on June 28th. Evan was almost 30 pounds lighter and on IV antibiotics 3 times a day. On his birthday, July 11th, he was hospitalized for a blood clot. Since then, things have been better. His IV was removed recently, and he is gaining weight. He is working full time now but will have to travel to Boston for 2 months for proton beam therapy radiation at Massachusetts General hospital - one of only a handful places in the world where this treatment is availbale.
Because of his operation and having to temporarliy relocate for a long and specialized treatment only available out of town, Evan has been unable to maintain the income his family would have recieved from his business. The Burch family is loved by everyone who knows them. They do so much for others, so we are encouraging everyone to donate whatever they can to support them through this long and diffictult struggle. Please believe me when I say that no amout is too small.
Thank you for reading this and for sharing it with others.
P.S. There is a lot of misinformation about chordomas on the Internet because they are so rare. The foundation has the most accurate information, and here's a link to the frequently asked questions:
http://www.chordomafoundation.org/faq/
Evan's tumor was discovered after he had a couple of bouts of double vision, both lasting about 2 weeks. Once in November of last year and the second in January of 2016. Evan saw several doctors until finally an eye specialist ordered an MRI, which revealed an abnormal lesion at his brain stem. They saw many neurosurgeons, locally and further away. They learned the that the lesion was a chordoma - a rare (one in a million) malignant cancer. After researching and speaking to several doctors and people affected by chordomas, they decided to have surgery at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center with Dr. Paul Gardner- a chordoma expert. On June 9th 2016, just 1 day after, their daughter Shelby turned 1 and 3 days after their daughter Maggie turned 4, Evan had surgery. Dr. Gardner was able to remove the tumor!
Evan was discharged two days later but never bounced back. He had terrible headaches and stopped eating and drinking. A week after the first surgery, they rushed him to the ER. He was sent to the operating room for emergency surgery to repair a spinal fluid leak at the sight of the surgery. He was in the hospital a week before being discharged. They returned home on June 28th. Evan was almost 30 pounds lighter and on IV antibiotics 3 times a day. On his birthday, July 11th, he was hospitalized for a blood clot. Since then, things have been better. His IV was removed recently, and he is gaining weight. He is working full time now but will have to travel to Boston for 2 months for proton beam therapy radiation at Massachusetts General hospital - one of only a handful places in the world where this treatment is availbale.
Because of his operation and having to temporarliy relocate for a long and specialized treatment only available out of town, Evan has been unable to maintain the income his family would have recieved from his business. The Burch family is loved by everyone who knows them. They do so much for others, so we are encouraging everyone to donate whatever they can to support them through this long and diffictult struggle. Please believe me when I say that no amout is too small.
Thank you for reading this and for sharing it with others.
P.S. There is a lot of misinformation about chordomas on the Internet because they are so rare. The foundation has the most accurate information, and here's a link to the frequently asked questions:
http://www.chordomafoundation.org/faq/
Organizer and beneficiary
Benjamin Hoffman
Organizer
New Albany, IN
Evan Burch
Beneficiary