Help Michael Beat Brain Cancer (again)

Hello all, my name is Fern. My dearest friends, Michael and Kayla, are facing a tremendous challenge right now: the discovery of a brain tumor that is imposing on Michael’s brain stem. I am writing this on their behalf.

Michael and his partner, Kayla, are relatively new to the Newport community but have established themselves wholeheartedly. Michael (25) is pursuing his master’s in music education and started the school year at Sam Case Elementary School as their music teacher. Kayla (22) started at Sam Case later in the year in the ELD department with her beloved service dog, Morti (a celebrity amongst the kids).

When Michael was 15, he had a cerebellar ganglioglioma that required surgery and extensive recovery. He was told it was improbable to recur. However, in February, Michael started to feel sick, and in early March, Michael began exhibiting severe symptoms of nausea, difficulty with vision, and brain fog. After a trip to the emergency room, it was discovered that the type of tumor he had when he was 15 was back with a vengeance. It was deemed that surgery needed to happen urgently within the next month. After a sudden hemorrhage (bleeding) of the tumor on his brain stem, the surgery was pushed to emergent, and he was life-flighted to OHSU on March 21st.

Upon arrival, Michael was admitted to the Neuro ICU at OHSU, and the team began preparing him for surgery. After many hours under the knife, Michael returned to the Neuro ICU, expecting his recovery, like last time, to be around ten days in the hospital and returning home to finish healing. Instead, in the two days following his surgery, his pain levels were unbearable, reaching a “16/10” on the pain scale at some points (and if you know Michael, you know his pain tolerance is ridiculously high). Even a fentanyl drip that administered drugs every 10 minutes could not bring his pain down to even a 10/10. That evening, they discovered he was experiencing hydrocephalus. They had to do an emergency External Ventricular Drain, a device that may only be used in the Neuro ICU to drain excess brain fluid.

Due to visiting hours, Kayla slept in the waiting room for the entire stay, which ended up being 18 days, rarely getting more than 2-3 hours of sleep per night. Michael was on Q1 neuro checks, which meant even less sleep for him. Optimistically, they could wean him off the EVD eventually and discharge him to return home on April 7th.

He spent about 36 hours away from the hospital before Kayla noticed something was off. She called the neurosurgeons at OHSU while symptoms of confusion were still mild and took Michael to the Newport Emergency Room for the third time that month. The team immediately contacted life flight for transportation, as he was again experiencing hydrocephalus. Unfortunately, getting a Life Flight was complicated due to inclement weather and took many hours.

Upon returning to the hospital, he had another EVD placed. He stabilized for a few days before they realized he was experiencing hydrocephalus for a third time, as the EVD was failing. They had to remove it and start with a third EVD. They waited as long as they could to avoid needing a permanent VP shunt but ultimately determined it a requirement for Michael. He had the VP shunt placed in surgery shortly after. This second stay lasted 14 days, totaling 32 days at OHSU. He experienced two Life-Flights, two surgeries, three procedures, and hydrocephalus three times during this time.

Once the tumor pathology returned, further study indicated that it was a genetic tumor with a high likelihood of returning. Some treatments and medications may help, but this will be an ongoing battle. At this time, Michael has minimal mobility and requires a walker even to go short distances. Additionally, his vision was affected due to damage to the brain stem, which is relatively limited at this time.

These two remarkably kind humans and their families are in for a very rough and long road ahead. Throughout Michael’s treatment and following recovery, Kayla will be trying to single-handedly support the household financially, as well as most caregiving tasks. Kayla no longer has her job with Lincoln County School District due to the time she needed off, and caring for Michael is now her full-time job. He will have scans and appointments monthly on top of his baseline needs. He is dedicated to working toward recovery every day, and dreams of returning to teach in the fall.

This is where we need you the most.

Even the smallest donation will help pay for rent, gas, prescriptions, groceries, or medical bills. Surely there will be no shortage of bills being passed their way any time soon, so we deeply hope our community will come through and lend a hand to a wonderful young couple in need.

Thank you, everyone,

**written by a close friend, some details are subject to change, and I will in no part be associated with incoming funds; it will all be linked directly to Michael and Kayla’s bank account**