Brandon and Kayla

Hi my name is Lori Erhardt and I am organizing this fundraiser for my daughter Kayla and son in law Brandon. In 2014 Brandon returned from his second deployment with the Air Force when he started having severe headaches. They found a tumor in his brain and he was referred to Barrows Medical Center in Phoenix Arizona. The tumor was benign and they were able to remove it. They returned home to Rapid City where he was stationed at the time and was recovering when there were complications and they found he had meningitis. They returned to Phoenix and a shunt was placed to help the fluid to drain properly.

In 2016 they moved to Rochester Minnesota to be closer to home. Brandon was going to school and Kayla started her nursing career at the Mayo Clinic. In January 2018 Brandon noticed weakness on his left side and after seeing a doctor at the mayo clinic, they found that he had a cavernoma near his brain stem. A cavernoma is a cluster of abnormal blood vessels, his started to bleed, causing severe stroke symptoms. He had a series of brain surgeries to help control the bleeding and for the last several years he had been on the road to recovery. They decided to start their family and they welcomed Jack in 2021 and are expecting their second child in April of this year. Unfortunately in August Brandon got put on medical leave without pay. In January Brandon’s cavernoma started to bleed again causing debilitating stroke symptoms affecting his ability to walk, use of his hand, and his eyesight. They are headed back down to Phoenix today and I am asking for help as they face his 8th brain surgery and a long recovery. They are going to incur significant costs, and I am just hoping to take some of the stress off as they navigate the months ahead. Thank you so much for considering.