Hey there! My name is Brandy and I'm starting a fundraiser for one of my best friends, Alison and her family. Late last year Alison's son Calvin was preparing to go off to College in New York in January when he fell longboarding and hurt his hip. When he wasn't recovering from the fall like a typical 18-year-old, he decided to go see a doctor. The doctor requested an x-ray and requested an MRI to get a better look at what was going on. Around Christmas, Calvin went to have the MRI and it showed he had a tumor on his hip. They did a biopsy on December 21, and thankfully, it was not cancer; however, it still wasn't good. It turned out to be an Aneurysmal bone cyst. This is a very painful and highly destructive benign bone tumor. The tumor is explosive and seems to expand in the bone.

He was told he needed to go to the Mayo clinic in January for a specialized injection treatment that would hopefully shrink the tumor; therefore, he had to postpone going to school. He was sad, but knew he needed to get this taken care of right away. The doctor scheduled a second injection treatment in April, but when they looked at the imaging, they found it had grown. They continued with the second injection treatment but wanted to do another MRI again in August to make sure it was not continuing to grow. Everyone was hopeful. These treatments were very painful and my heart broke when I heard how much pain he was in. Calvin is a fighter and such a positive person. He always remained positive even when he was clearly in pain. Love this kid! He ended up having to postpone school again after his second treatment and was hoping he would receive good news prior to taking his third treatment so he could join his friends in NY.

Unfortunately, last week the doctor stated the tumor is getting larger and has grown into his hip joint; therefore, a third treatment would not be necessary. He now needs to have surgery to replace the bone. He will be in the hospital 7 days and the expected recovery is approximately 6-8 weeks.

Medical and travel expenses will continue to grow, and I am hoping to ease some of that burden with this fundraiser. Alison and her family have helped me and so many others and now they need our help. First, please add Calvin and his family in your thoughts and prayers. God is good and He has Calvin in his arms and will be with him every step of the way. Second, please consider donating if you have the ability. Any amount is greatly appreciated and will help the family. If you are unable to donate monetarily, know your prayers are very much appreciated and please consider sharing this on Facebook. Together, we can help ease some of the burdens for this family.

Sending love to all.

Brandy