Help Fund 3 year old Henry's Brain Surgery
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My name is Jonathan Hake and I am the father of Henry Hake. Henry is three years old and was diagnosed with a calcified brain lesion in his left temporal lobe in late 2021. A follow up four night EEG confirmed the calcified brain lesion is the cause of Henry’s seizures, called a DNET. A dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumor (DNET) is a low-grade, slow-growing brain tumor which caused Henry’s focal seizures. These focal seizures cause Henry to be weak in his right side to the point he cannot stand, to be unresponsive when being talked to, and to be very tired after to the point of napping. Henry has been on escalating doses of multiple antiseizure medications but they have been losing effectiveness as time has passed. The time has come for Henry to have a two stage brain surgery in order to fully remove the tumor and hopefully give Henry a tumor-free, seizure-free childhood. After surgery Henry will lose up to a year’s worth of progress in speech and communication development due to the location of the tumor. Hopefully, all other side effects will be avoided by the two stage surgery. After surgery Henry will require speech therapy as well as other rehabilitation services and yearly follow up EEG’s and MRI’s to ensure that the tumor is fully gone.
The money collected from this gofundme will be used to help the Hake family pay for past medical expenses, the two stage surgery, as well as future rehabilitation costs associated with Henry’s brain lesion. Additionally, this brain tumor has had an effect on Henry’s personal development in the areas of speech and social interaction. He struggled in his second year to interact with other children in a safe and productive manner to the point that it was most beneficial for Jonathan to stay home from work and ensure that Henry received the care he needed as well as watching the twins Ceciliana and Joseph. With the combination of antiseizure medications, Jonathan staying home, and Henry beginning half day early preschool there have been major changes to Henry’s behavior and his growth in his deficient areas. Unfortunately with the surgery some of these deficiencies will be back again and need more personal care to correct. Jonathan hopes to return to work near the end of the year and this money would help his family to pay for the medical expenses and rehabilitation expenses associated with Henry’s tumor.
Henry is an incredibly loving and sweet little boy. His favorite activities include painting, playing with his cars, and going to the park to play with the slides. He is quick to ask if you are doing okay and offer a hug when mommy and daddy are having a rough day. Henry, like most three year olds struggles some with sharing his toys or with following instructions because he has a set plan in his head of how he wants something to go. He is so incredibly brave and strong. He handled his four days in the hospital like a champ and we are confident that he is going to be even stronger and braver during his surgery, hospital stay, and rehabilitation. His smile and laugh light up the entire room and the worst part is he knows it. He loves to sing nursery rhymes and listen to Luke Combs, One Voice Children’s Choir, or Claire Crosby on Youtube. But Henry’s absolute favorite thing is being with his family. He loves so very hard and you can see it when he gets to be with his Grandpa John, his Grandma Debbie, Grandpa Jim, Grandma Mary, and all of his favorite Aunts and Uncles.
Thank you to all of you even if you didn’t donate. Reading Henry’s story and sharing it means a lot to his mother and father. This brave little man will be tumor free and healing within a month. And these donations will help to ensure that the family can focus on giving Henry the most supportive and productive environment for his future.
#HenrysHeroes
Co-organizers (2)
Rose Toplikar
Organizer
Gardner, KS
Theresa Hake
Beneficiary
Jonathan Hake
Co-organizer