Jonathon's Surgery

Jonathon will be having surgery to remove an ependymoma  tumorfrom the upper part of his spine.  The tumor is growing inside of the spinal column and putting pressure on the nerves there causing him to gradually lose the use of his arms and hands at this point.  As it continues to grow he will eventually be paralyzed from the neck down.  The surgery is very delicate and could potentially cause the paralysis they are trying to prevent. The surgery will require the removal of at least 2 of the vertebrae in his neck.   Stanford is the best facility for this type of rare tumor treatment.  Because of the location and rarity of the tumor there are very few neurosurgeons that have experience in doing the surgery.  This will be a very costly treatment involving travel and lodging in the Bay Area, transportation to the hospital, quarantine ahead of the surgery; then monitoring at the hospital for a minimum of to weeks after the surgery.