Emergency Expenses for Lucas Vasquez Beckman

Hello, my name is Varinh Van Vugt and I am asking for your support to help my dear friend Kristi Beckman with emergency expenses as her family navigates a new medical diagnosis for her son Lucas Vasquez Beckman.

On the evening of December 22 while most of us were at home hunkered down for the blizzard, Lucas was playing video games online with his friends when he had a sudden excruciating headache and lost sensation in half his body. He was rushed to the Emergency Room at MCHS Austin and then transported via ambulance by Mayo One Critical Care to Rochester after finding bleeding in his brain. CT scans determined that he has an arteriovenous malformation(AVM) that ruptured and caused an aneurysm and stroke like symptoms. This morning he had an angiogram and two arteries were sealed to help reduce blood flow to the bleed. Further treatment of the AVM may include surgery or radiation and many tests. Lucas and Kristi will be in the Rochester PICU for the time being as they wait for the swelling in his brain to go down . They have some of the best pediatric neurosurgeons working out a course of action for treatment but they still have a long journey ahead of them.

Kristi is one of my closest friends and is someone I aim to be like when I grow up. She has the kindest heart which is reflected in the kindness embodied by her three children. She always tries to help in anyway she can. She does this gracefully while juggling being a single mother and changing the lives of countless people in our community. I have known Lucas since he was in preschool with my oldest child. He is a thoughtful and caring young man. Even now in the the hospital he doesn’t want his little sisters to worry about him and has used the strength he has to thank the doctors and those involved for helping him.

The funds raised will be used to help pay for medical bills and other costs so the family may focus on recovery.