Help Danielle Knibb beat a Brain Tumor
Donation protected
A healthy 35 year old mother of two little ones never expects to be diagnosed with a brain tumor, but here we are!
The average survival of low grade gliomas is 8-13 years but we plan on beating that! (By a lot!)
Story Time: Danielle was having an increase in headaches and then a weird bout of ear numbness which lead to her requesting an MRI from her primary care doctor and then discovery of the probable brain tumor. Again at her request she was referred to a neurosurgeon in our area at Sentara who said it looked like a tumor. Three more opinions (Duke, Johns Hopkins, and VCU) also agreed it looked like a small tumor but there was a small chance it could just be abnormal tissue. The only way to know for sure is to take it out and test it, so brain surgery it is! They are currently thinking it is a low grade Glioma which means it will continue to grow over time. Currently with the small size and location the hope is take it out without any big deficits (maybe just a bit of face droop for a while). We’ve named the tumor Waffles.
Keeping Score:
4 Neuro Surgeons in 3 different states (each classified differently by insurance)
3 MRIs: 1 regular, 1 with contrast, 1 functional
1,100+ miles driven all in 4 weeks time.
Upon finishing our last consult, it is decided WAFFLES HAS TO GO! (#byewaffles)
The Plan: Duke Brain Specialist neurosurgeon, Dr. Allan H. Friedman, MD will be leading his team in the removal of the Tumor, Waffles, May 22. We will stay in ICU until cleared by Dr. Friedman, approx. 24-48 hours later. We will then need to follow up a day later, and then a couple weeks later for the Post operative visit and the staples to be removed and the genetic make up to be revealed. The expected recovery is about 8 weeks.
Why we need your help: While we have Health Insurance, most of the consults and all of the surgical costs are "out of network" meaning we are expecting much higher costs for Danielle's care. Between the consults, MRIs. driving, time off of work, the pre-operative testing, the surgery, the labs, post operative appointments, and then 8 weeks off work to recover, we expect WAFFLES to be an expensive tumor to get our of our lives. ANY and ALL contributions will help Danielle and our Family though this process.
If you want to help an another way: We would love "not cooked by us" meals once we get back from Duke. Danielle would love recommendations of books, magazines or movies (Netflix favorites?!). Play days for Finn and Kate would be amazing to give Danielle a break from the "mom, mommy, mama.." requests from our littles. We welcome all prayers, cards, letters, mails, messages, hugs (virtual and real), etc...
Our address: 1121 Washington Dr. Chesapeake, VA 23322
We are staying positive for an easy surgery, a quick recovery, and NO MORE WAFFLES! (Only the breakfast, Chocolate, or Belgian variety from now on). #byewaffles
The average survival of low grade gliomas is 8-13 years but we plan on beating that! (By a lot!)
Story Time: Danielle was having an increase in headaches and then a weird bout of ear numbness which lead to her requesting an MRI from her primary care doctor and then discovery of the probable brain tumor. Again at her request she was referred to a neurosurgeon in our area at Sentara who said it looked like a tumor. Three more opinions (Duke, Johns Hopkins, and VCU) also agreed it looked like a small tumor but there was a small chance it could just be abnormal tissue. The only way to know for sure is to take it out and test it, so brain surgery it is! They are currently thinking it is a low grade Glioma which means it will continue to grow over time. Currently with the small size and location the hope is take it out without any big deficits (maybe just a bit of face droop for a while). We’ve named the tumor Waffles.
Keeping Score:
4 Neuro Surgeons in 3 different states (each classified differently by insurance)
3 MRIs: 1 regular, 1 with contrast, 1 functional
1,100+ miles driven all in 4 weeks time.
Upon finishing our last consult, it is decided WAFFLES HAS TO GO! (#byewaffles)
The Plan: Duke Brain Specialist neurosurgeon, Dr. Allan H. Friedman, MD will be leading his team in the removal of the Tumor, Waffles, May 22. We will stay in ICU until cleared by Dr. Friedman, approx. 24-48 hours later. We will then need to follow up a day later, and then a couple weeks later for the Post operative visit and the staples to be removed and the genetic make up to be revealed. The expected recovery is about 8 weeks.
Why we need your help: While we have Health Insurance, most of the consults and all of the surgical costs are "out of network" meaning we are expecting much higher costs for Danielle's care. Between the consults, MRIs. driving, time off of work, the pre-operative testing, the surgery, the labs, post operative appointments, and then 8 weeks off work to recover, we expect WAFFLES to be an expensive tumor to get our of our lives. ANY and ALL contributions will help Danielle and our Family though this process.
If you want to help an another way: We would love "not cooked by us" meals once we get back from Duke. Danielle would love recommendations of books, magazines or movies (Netflix favorites?!). Play days for Finn and Kate would be amazing to give Danielle a break from the "mom, mommy, mama.." requests from our littles. We welcome all prayers, cards, letters, mails, messages, hugs (virtual and real), etc...
Our address: 1121 Washington Dr. Chesapeake, VA 23322
We are staying positive for an easy surgery, a quick recovery, and NO MORE WAFFLES! (Only the breakfast, Chocolate, or Belgian variety from now on). #byewaffles
Organizer
Josh Knibb
Organizer
Chesapeake, VA
