Brooks Eveland's fight against cancer

Hi, my name is Kaycie and I am fundraising for my nephew Brooks, my sister Kourtney, and her partner Kyle as they navigate their way through Brooks' cancer treatments.

On January 24th, 2023, my sweet little nephew, Brooks Eveland, was diagnosed with rare eye cancer at the young age of 3 years old. While this diagnosis is not terminal, it has completely changed the trajectory of life for Brooks, his 18-month-old sister Georgia, and his mommy and daddy, Kourtney Hiatt and Kyle Eveland.

This all started a few weeks into the new year when Kourtney noticed a “sparkle” in Brooks’ right eye that she could only see in dim lighting. On January 17th, which also happened to be Kourtney’s birthday, they were finally able to capture it on photo and video. Kourtney immediately reached out to his doctor and Kyle called in favors to get Brooks seen by a specialist on January 20th. That specialist confirmed that there is a tumor and quickly referred Brooks to Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.

CHLA confirmed their worst fears and admitted Brooks to the hospital on January 24th to begin his treatment for retinoblastoma cancer of his right eye. The rating system for this kind of cancer is on a scale of A through E. It was learned that his tumor was considered group D. This means, according to the American Cancer Society, Brooks has a large or poorly defined tumor with widespread vitreous or subretinal seeding. They also learned during his hospital stay Brooks was a week or less away from the tumor detaching his retina. If that had happened there would have been no hope of saving his eye. Kyle and Kourtney’s persistence, determination, and parental instincts may have saved this sweet boy from losing his eye. After several nights in the hospital, numerous tests, and his first round of chemotherapy Brooks was released from the hospital on January 28th.

While the initial shock of the diagnosis is wearing off, the new reality for Brooks and his family is setting in. Brooks will undergo chemotherapy for 2 to 3 years. Amongst the chemotherapy, he will also have to undergo countless eye exams under anesthesia, CT scans, and other tests to see how the chemo is working. He will have a port installed soon to make the chemo treatments more comfortable for him. For the next 6 months, Brooks will be receiving monthly chemo treatments. This will require Kourtney and Kyle to transport Brooks to CHLA for 3 consecutive days every month for chemo treatments. These visits will likely make Brooks sick and require 2 adults, one to drive and one to help Brooks on the drive home. Kyle and Kourtney will also be administering several Nivestym shots to Brooks after each treatment to help counteract the loss of white blood cells that will occur during chemotherapy. It is expected that he will lose his hair, be sick for a few days after each treatment and experience extreme fatigue throughout this process. They will determine after the initial 6 months how well the chemo treatment is working and decide the next course of action and chemo regimen from there.

We would like to thank everyone for the outpouring of prayers and support from friends, family, strangers, and even professional baseball players. The love is felt and appreciated. So many folks have sent gifts, well-wishes, and messages, and asked how they can help. At this time, Brooks will be very limited in having visitors as his immune system will be compromised.

With all of this being said, Kourtney and Kyle will be incurring expenses for everything from time off work, care for Georgia during Brooks’ appointments, and travel expenses. Not to mention the out-of-pocket insurance expenses and co-pays that are already totaling thousands of dollars in the last week alone and will continue for the next 2 to 3 years. Even with health insurance the costs that will be incurred by Kyle and Kourtney are astronomical. Kourtney and Kyle have always been there for me and my children, as well as countless children throughout the community due to Kyle’s work in helping kids achieve their dreams playing ball at The Lot, and this is the best way I know how to give back to them at this time. If you would like to help and have the means to do so, any contribution is greatly appreciated.

Brooks has been sleeping with a stuffed tiger. A few nights before his diagnosis, Brooks told his daddy that he would be strong like tigers. Please continue to pray for darling Brooks as well as Kyle, Kourtney, and Georgia as they navigate through what is sure to be their most difficult journey yet. #strongliketigers