Help Goran Recover From Multiple Brain Surgeries

Dear Friends,

 

As some of you have heard, Goran “Papa” Vujanovic has been suffering from a brain disease due to unknown brain lesions and has been in and out of surgery since May of last year.

 

It has been and will continue to be an extremely long, painful & expensive recovery process. Goran and his family expect the total of all of his medical bills, rehab, therapy to be well over $60,000 dollars out of pocket (based on $31,419.60 expenses last year; included premium and out of the pocket maximum). These costs will exceed his health insurance benefits.

 

We are hoping to ease some of the financial burdens that inevitably come with severe health issues like this, both from medical expenses for the operation, ongoing treatment, care, and also from loss of income from not being able to work.

 

Goran has taken what feels like hit after hit, and if we can relieve the slightest bit of stress, even if it’s just financially, I know that it would make a world of a difference. Goran and his wife Sania would never ask for help themselves, but I’m asking for them. If you feel it is in your heart to donate to this amazing family, I know they would be forever grateful.

 

 

 

 

GORAN'S STORY

 

For those of you who don’t know Goran, he is only 44 years old & is an amazing father to his daughter - Aurora (7) - and a great husband to his wife Sania. Goran was born and raised in Croatia where he spent many of his years playing professional soccer for various clubs and the Croatian National Team. After his athletic career came to an end, his wife Sania and he moved to Los Angeles 10 years ago, where later their daughter Aurora was born.

 

 

 

 

Those who’ve met Goran know what a kind, generous, hardworking, caring, and wonderful human he is. Goran is loved by literally everyone that knows him. He has built an incredible network through his jobs working as a Matradee/server at Dan Tana’s and as a real estate agent with Quintessentially Estates LA. His family has been by his side daily since the start and will be with him throughout his recovery.

 

GORAN'S MEDICAL JOURNEY

 

In early 2021 Goran began expressing concerns to his family and friends about sudden developed diplopia, nausea, and blurred vision he would experience on a daily basis. By May, these symptoms were unbearable, forcing him to go to the hospital where MRI showed multiple brain lesions covering his brain. He was diagnosed with metastatic brain tumors.

 

On May 28th, Goran underwent his first major brain surgery which revealed multinucleated giant cells, foci of necrosis throughout the 4th ventricular mass.

 

 

 

Just a month after the brain surgery, he developed a CSF leak (cerebral fluid was leaking from his brain) at the surgical site. This required a lumbar drain placement and he was hospitalized for a week. After getting out of the hospital he developed severe headaches. Unfortunately, none of the medications were helping with the pain.

 

By September, Goran developed another cerebral fluid leak (pseudomeningocele) on the surgical site. He and his family continued to seek answers, discussing with many doctors (US and international) and visiting various hospitals (UCLA, USC, St. Johns, Cedars, City of Hope, Mayo Clinic). Goran underwent further tests, MRIs, CT scans to discover the origin and type of brain legions he had. However, the tests did not produce any results. Bacteria, Virus, Parasitic, Infection, and other various diseases all came back negative.

 

On November 23, 2021 the doctors decided that Goran would need another brain surgery to remove more tissue in hopes of determining the cause of Goran’s disease, as well as to repair the cerebral fluid leak (redo suboccipital craniotomy for lesional biopsy and repair of pseudomeningocele with lumbar drain placement).

 

Although the new surgery ruled out the possibility that Goran has an infection, the doctors still could not confirm an accurate diagnosis. Three weeks following this operation, Goran developed another cerebral fluid leak.

 

On December 17th, Goran was re-admitted to the ER due to severe headache, dizziness, loss of balance, and lack of appetite. Three days later, Goran underwent his third surgery, known as a VP shunt (Ventriculoperitoneal shunt) in order to try and fix his cerebral fluid leak which was becoming life-threatening for him. The VP shunt was placed in his lower lumbar area in order to help with draining of cerebral fluid in his brain, in hopes that the leak on the back of his head would close.

 

Following this third surgery, a team of 30 specialist doctors nationwide gathered together in order to try and confirm a diagnosis of Goran’s brain disease. A multi-disciplinary discussion involving rheumatology, gastroenterology, ID, neurology, neurosurgery concluded that the brain lesions may be connected to his autoimmune Crohn's disease. Despite these efforts, the diagnoses were still inconclusive and the cerebral leak slowly returned as surgical efforts were ineffective.

 

Goran was in the hospital on Christmas barely conscious, undergoing more difficult procedures (endoscopy, angiography of his brain, colonoscopy, MRI’s, Xrays, CT’s). His family couldn’t visit him as Covid hit that department and he was in isolation.

 

On January 26th, he suffered a severe seizure lasting 8 minutes. Blood was coming from his mouth and he was taken to the ER. He began having difficulties with memory and was prescribed seizure medication.

 

 

 

With this, Goran and his family remain hopeful that his treatments will become effective. He still suffers from the cerebral fluid leak from the numerous surgeries and the brain lesions are still present as before. Once his brain lesions are resolved (most likely will require another brain surgery in the future) he must also fix the cerebral fluid leak which continues to be life-threatening for him.

 

EXPENSES

 

MEDICAL COST FOR 2021:

 

1st surgery/hospital/visits cost was $447,374.34

 

2nd & 3rd surgery/hospital/visits cost was $564,559.46

 

Our out of the pocket health expenses for 2021 - $31,419.60

 

MEDICAL COST FOR 2022:

 

Medical bills billed from January 1st,2022- current : $60,381.81

 

Our out of the pocket- current (March 2022) : $11,506.18

 

 

GORAN'S CURRENT TREATMENT PLAN

 

His current treatment plan involves the autoimmune medication Remicade which costs roughly $17,000 - $25,000 per dose. The treatment plan is as follows:

 

 

HOW WE CAN HELP

 

Many of Goran’s friends and family are asking how they can help, and this is where we can come in! Money raised will go toward Goran’s growing medical bills/treatment, travel to specialists, childcare, unpaid time off from work, and other unforeseen costs.

 

No amount is too small - even $5 will help! If everyone gives just a little, they will be able to focus on Goran’s treatment and healing without being overwhelmed by financial concerns. Goran and Sania will be receiving the money from this fundraiser directly from this website into their personal checking account.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this and supporting the Vujanovic family. Our continued thoughts and prayers are with them. Please show Goran, Sania, and Aurora your support by considering a donation and spreading the word. We will keep you updated on Goran’s journey in the coming weeks.

 

With love and gratitude,

Goran, Sanya, and Aurora