Help Anna live out her dreams!

Hello, my name is Austin Herdina. My beautiful wife Anna Herdina was recently diagnosed with a Grade III Astrocytoma brain tumor. As difficult as it is to ask for help from family and friends that is what we are doing today.

November 13th Anna woke up and had a Grand Mal seizure that lasted a few minutes. She was taken to the emergency room and after a CT scan we were told she has a large mass on her brain. Next she had an MRI and it showed a brain tumor.

Something many people may not know is that we had just found out Anna was pregnant at the beginning of November. We were so excited for our future. Eloise was going to be a big sister. Our plans for our family were finally coming together. Upon learning of the tumor Anna had to stop taking the hormone medication that was necessary to maintain her pregnancy because it was feeding her brain tumor. We lost the pregnancy within a few weeks. Learning she had a brain tumor was devastating for her but losing her pregnancy was just as devastating.

Anna had to wait through the holidays not knowing what type of tumor she has or how dangerous it is all while grieving the loss of a pregnancy. There were many tears shed and many sleepless nights. Finally on January 12th she had surgery and the surgeon was able to remove 75% of her tumor. The surgery caused Anna to lose use of her left leg and left hand for a couple of weeks. She now has use of them but needs to walk with a cane and still has a lot of weakness.

Starting February 22nd Anna will be undergoing radiation Monday - Friday for 6 weeks. She will also be starting an aggressive chemotherapy for a couple of months followed by a lightened chemotherapy that could last 9-15 months. During this time she will also be having occupational therapy and physical therapy several times a week.

Anna's prognosis is difficult to accept. It is expected that the tumor will grow back in a couple years and could be aggressive when it does. We are hoping with treatment that we can press the pause button and have some wonderful years together.

The biopsy of the portion of the tumor that was removed showed mostly a Grade II Astrocytoma but one portion of it showed some abnormalities and is considered Grade III Astrocytoma and therefore it is labeled as brain cancer. It has been a very difficult thing to accept.

Anna can't drive due to being a seizure risk. Her mother (Denise) or myself will need to take her to her daily radiation appointments which are about 30 minutes away. It will mostly be Denise driving as I will be working most days. During this time we will need to either take Eloise with us or have childcare. Being in Indianapolis away from any friends or family to help us has made this even more difficult.

Aside from mounting medical costs Anna has had some items on her bucket list that she so badly wants to cross off. She has been talking to me about her and her mom going to Italy on vacation since I first met her. I want this to be a reality for her. She desperately wants to bring Eloise to Disney World and experience everything it has to offer and see the joy and happiness in her daughter's eyes. Lastly, Anna and I never went on a honeymoon. We decided to use the money we had at the time towards purchasing and furnishing our first home. As smart as it seemed at the time I greatly regret not having the memories of a honeymoon with my wife.

If you are able to contribute anything to Anna's treatment costs, transportation costs, or to make her vacation dreams come true please do so. Your help could go a long way to making more memories for Anna, Eloise, and myself.

Thank you!