Hello to all, and thank you for your time... Two months ago, on Sept 8th, our son Adam was diagnosed with a brain tumor called a vestibular schwannoma, which explained all the issues he had been having with dizziness, visual blackouts, headaches, etc. These are generally benign tumors (not cancerous); however, his was pretty large for this type of tumor, and the location and its continued growth would only worsen symptoms and possibly add other problems. Adam has been unable to work since Sept 8th as his symptoms did worsen, and he went into a whirlwind of doctor appointments, scans, MRI, blood work, etc., in preparation for surgery.

At this time, Adam did apply for short-term disability, of which he has only received two checks. They are not very much, and out of those, he is expected to continue paying weekly premiums to maintain/keep his health insurance. His wife Nora works, but it is just not enough right now, and they are struggling financially to stay afloat. They have two young daughters who are in elementary school and middle school, trying to carry on with their daily routines, but they are missing their dad. Adam HAS had his surgery, on Tues, Nov 4th. It was a very long surgery, lasting about 9-10 hours. The doctors were able to remove about 80% of the tumor, and his neurosurgeon was very happy with the results of the surgery, as there were a LOT of risks that came along with this surgery: possible facial paralysis, the possibility of quadriplegia, possible severe and permanent vertigo, spinal fluid leaks, etc. So far, Adam is doing ok. He IS experiencing difficulty with walking/balance; some facial numbness but NOT paralysis; some site swelling, he has titanium mesh, etc., on his skull; has been experiencing a LOT of pain, high BP, and high heart rate, but this is all slowly improving. As of today, Nov 13th, he is still in the hospital in Mesa; however, we are hoping that in the next day or so, he will be moving to a rehab hospital which is much closer to home and where he can continue working at getting better, however, we are unsure how long this will be and when or if he can go back to work. We thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers, and we hope you have it in your heart to donate some funds to help them get through these next few months.