Help Trevor Smile a Toothy Grin Again!!
Donation protected
We are raising money for our beautiful boy Trevor!! Trevor has had quite a journey in his 27 years on this earth! Its time to help him become more comfortable in this life by allowing him to eat properly, not hurt so much and fully smile again!! Its been over two decades since he last smiled a toothy grin. Why?
When Trevor was just past his 4th birthday he was having trouble sleeping at night. One night his breathing was stopping and we took him to the ER. Soon the nightmare began when we were greeted by an Oncologist and told our precious son had a very rare and aggressive cancer. It turned out he had stage 3 Rhabdomyosarcoma which was inoperable and wrapped all through his sinus cavity and growing down his throat. Research told us this was very serious and he may have had at the time about a 20% chance of survival.
Since it was so aggressive and fast moving, he had a very aggressive treatment regime which started immediately with a maximum dosage of radiation treatments to his head/face. We were warned by the radiologist that the procedure would be effective in knocking the cancer down but would cause various side effects such as scarring in his throat , mouth and sinus area, damage to his teeth, damage to his facial bones and damage to his pituitary gland and hypothalamus.
The radiation was a success and really knocked the cancer down to a point where the next year of chemotherapy could potentially knock it out. However the radiation was devastating and burned his mouth so badly it was charred black and he was IV fed for a few months. He had received the maximum dosage of radiation (RADS) over many many treatments. He was such a trooper and the secret of his success and survival was his tremendously high pain tolerance, tolerance of the medications and his strong resolve to live and do what he was told. During 1996 Trevor nearly passed away three times due to medication allergies and infections but emerged on the other side still alive.
Since 1996, Trevor has graduated from High School, taken some college classes, earned his Eagle Scout award and is a fine fine young man we all are very proud of. His love of the wilderness and the mountains keeps him living in a converted van currently in Salt Lake City. Previously he's lived in Jackson WY and Breckenridge CO. He is a gifted rock climber and photographer and he see's the world thru very old experienced tranquil eyes that have fought and fought and seen and experienced things no one should have to endure.
He recently picked to live, work and climb in Salt Lake City because one of the most talented surgical prosthodontists resides there and is going to help Trevor with some of the after-effects of his treatment that he struggles with. Most adults have 18 teeth on our top jaw and 18 on the bottom. Trevor had only 7 on top as many have fallen out or never came in. The radiation basically froze his face and lower head into the size and maturity of a 4 year old. Many of his adult teeth never came in, a number of his baby teeth never fell out until they broke apart and the adult teeth he did have had their roots shortened by the treatment making them all lose. Trevor had all his remaining teeth on top surgically removed this past June 2019 using funds from the first phase of this Go Fund Me.
This Go Fund Me is to raise the funding necessary to have his new teeth created and installed sometime in November 2019 assuming all 5 of the posts have healed properly into his jaw bone. He will know that in late October. If they are solid, he will be in to have impressions made and we will need $5,900 in late October so the teeth can be made!! So exciting! Trevor has been living w no teeth on the top now for almost 4 months and been a real trooper.
This won't be the end of Trevor's daily struggles but will at least allow him to eat the foods he wants and reduce his pain levels. He still is stared at constantly by kids and adults which can be very hurtful to Trevor but kudos to him for living his life and letting most troubles roll of his back. He even had a man the other day in Georgia get in his face and ask him point blank why he looks like he does. The guy wasn't even nice about it. When I'm with Trevor I'm continually blown away by his grace, poise and strength as in the end he is thankful to be alive and thankful for his wonderful life. He mourns everyday the loss of so many of his friends that weren't as lucky as he to survive this scourge we call pediatric cancer,
Thank you for giving what you can to Trevor and please please in the future give to charities that focus on pediatric cancer research and support! It's badly overlooked and so many kids suffer each and everyday along with their parents and friends.
When Trevor was just past his 4th birthday he was having trouble sleeping at night. One night his breathing was stopping and we took him to the ER. Soon the nightmare began when we were greeted by an Oncologist and told our precious son had a very rare and aggressive cancer. It turned out he had stage 3 Rhabdomyosarcoma which was inoperable and wrapped all through his sinus cavity and growing down his throat. Research told us this was very serious and he may have had at the time about a 20% chance of survival.
Since it was so aggressive and fast moving, he had a very aggressive treatment regime which started immediately with a maximum dosage of radiation treatments to his head/face. We were warned by the radiologist that the procedure would be effective in knocking the cancer down but would cause various side effects such as scarring in his throat , mouth and sinus area, damage to his teeth, damage to his facial bones and damage to his pituitary gland and hypothalamus.
The radiation was a success and really knocked the cancer down to a point where the next year of chemotherapy could potentially knock it out. However the radiation was devastating and burned his mouth so badly it was charred black and he was IV fed for a few months. He had received the maximum dosage of radiation (RADS) over many many treatments. He was such a trooper and the secret of his success and survival was his tremendously high pain tolerance, tolerance of the medications and his strong resolve to live and do what he was told. During 1996 Trevor nearly passed away three times due to medication allergies and infections but emerged on the other side still alive.
Since 1996, Trevor has graduated from High School, taken some college classes, earned his Eagle Scout award and is a fine fine young man we all are very proud of. His love of the wilderness and the mountains keeps him living in a converted van currently in Salt Lake City. Previously he's lived in Jackson WY and Breckenridge CO. He is a gifted rock climber and photographer and he see's the world thru very old experienced tranquil eyes that have fought and fought and seen and experienced things no one should have to endure.
He recently picked to live, work and climb in Salt Lake City because one of the most talented surgical prosthodontists resides there and is going to help Trevor with some of the after-effects of his treatment that he struggles with. Most adults have 18 teeth on our top jaw and 18 on the bottom. Trevor had only 7 on top as many have fallen out or never came in. The radiation basically froze his face and lower head into the size and maturity of a 4 year old. Many of his adult teeth never came in, a number of his baby teeth never fell out until they broke apart and the adult teeth he did have had their roots shortened by the treatment making them all lose. Trevor had all his remaining teeth on top surgically removed this past June 2019 using funds from the first phase of this Go Fund Me.
This Go Fund Me is to raise the funding necessary to have his new teeth created and installed sometime in November 2019 assuming all 5 of the posts have healed properly into his jaw bone. He will know that in late October. If they are solid, he will be in to have impressions made and we will need $5,900 in late October so the teeth can be made!! So exciting! Trevor has been living w no teeth on the top now for almost 4 months and been a real trooper.
This won't be the end of Trevor's daily struggles but will at least allow him to eat the foods he wants and reduce his pain levels. He still is stared at constantly by kids and adults which can be very hurtful to Trevor but kudos to him for living his life and letting most troubles roll of his back. He even had a man the other day in Georgia get in his face and ask him point blank why he looks like he does. The guy wasn't even nice about it. When I'm with Trevor I'm continually blown away by his grace, poise and strength as in the end he is thankful to be alive and thankful for his wonderful life. He mourns everyday the loss of so many of his friends that weren't as lucky as he to survive this scourge we call pediatric cancer,
Thank you for giving what you can to Trevor and please please in the future give to charities that focus on pediatric cancer research and support! It's badly overlooked and so many kids suffer each and everyday along with their parents and friends.
Organizer
Mark Rowell
Organizer
Canton, GA