Helping Kaia get an MRI in the States

Hi Everyone!

It feels like it has been a long wait but we finally got Kaia’s results from her MRI. First things first, we are thankful to say that there was no cancer found!

We were hopeful to get lots of answers and we have gotten some but crazy enough, the results have lead us where we need to go to get more answers. There was one result on her spine that is requiring even further investigation and so we are going to have to get a dedicated MRI on her spinal cord. We will have to go the private route on this too, so we are beyond thankful that there is still money left over so that we are able to pay for this too! Her doctor, rheumatologist and nurse practitioner with Prenuvo have advised this. Kaia has an appointment with a neurologist in the fall and we are hoping that we will be able to get this done before that appointment since this is the specialist that will help answer the questions we now have from the MRI regarding her spine.

There is also degeneration in her spine in her back and neck along with other fluid pockets in some joints causing inflammation and is pointing us a little closer to Ankylosing Spondylitis, but because of the other finding on her spinal cord, we are needing that investigated first.

In the meantime, the results were helpful in a lot of ways with the rheumatologist and she is advising that we start a different round of treatment to see if we can help things get better. She will have to get an injection once a week for the first month and then once a month after that. These shots are $1000 each, which is crazy! Some of Justin’s medical coverage will help with this but not all of it. So we are trying to feel positive that this is one step closer to some concrete answers and some help for Kaia.

Kaia and Justin have moved in and we have been busy bees getting the suite ready for them! We are all tired, but are happy with how it has all turned out and all of her doctors are very happy that she is going to be having us all close to be able to support Kaia and Justin.

There are a few other things that showed up on the MRI that are not really concerning but actually might be giving us answers to some of Kaia’s other symptoms. Of course, she will have to go to a few more specialists to get the complete picture on all of these things also.

So, thank you , all for your support…. We are still winding down the path to figuring things out and hope to find some relief for Kaia soon. Thanks, Tara, Kaia and Justin

GREAT NEWS! UN UPDATE!!!

WOW! What a crazy week this has been! First off- "Kaia and Justin want to say a huge thank you to everyone for their financial support and their thoughtfulness and caring hearts. It has been an overwhelming week. We feel so blessed to have such an amazing community surrounding us."

We were able to meet our goal in less than 48 hours! How fantastic is that! To say we have had a few tears this week is an understatement!

Last night we decided to start booking everything! We were checking the dates available in LA and Kaia suggested that we check Vancouver one last time and to our amazement there was one appointment available within the next 6 months for today at 7:15AM!!!!! SO guess who got a scan this morning!!!!!

This has been a lot to take in such a short amount of time and honestly, having things actually be a "yes" is a bizarre feeling! ha!

The scan that Kaia got done was a full body scan that checks for 100's of different things. It is a company called Prenuvo. This scan is far more extensive than the three MRI's that the Dr's were wanting. It will take 15 business days to get the result. So now we wait!

We are not sure what this will all bring but we are feeling hopeful to actually get some answers!

With the change of plans, obviously the cost has come in lower than we expected. We were anxiously trying to book the exam while trying to figure out how to get the money back to people! But some of the donors have expressed the advice to just wait. Wait and see what this all brings about. Wait to see if there are any extra treatments or tests needed and that the money could be used towards that. We are wanting full transparency. So we will keep everyone posted!

Again, with all of our hearts we want to thank you. There feels like there are some rays of light shining on our path and for this we are feeling blessed and encourged. Tara

Hello! This is Tara, Kaia's Mama, and Justin's Mama T! I am writing today to update you on Kaia and Justin's situation and to ask, only if you are able, to help them out.

Kaia is in need of an MRI and it looks like the only way that we can make that happen is by having her go to the states to get this done.

As some of you may know, Kaia's health has been deteriorating. Over the last year and a half we have had endless trips to the hospital, doctor's offices and anyone else that we could get help from. As of today we have had no concrete answers. Poor Kaia has gone through so many different treatments and medications that have not helped or given her any relief. Kaia has been dealing with crippling pain through her whole body, major migraines and major stomach pain. The rheumatologist that Kaia has been seeing diagnosed her with Ankylosing Spondylitis. The only way to confirm this diagnosis is with an MRI. Which Kaia has been waiting a year to have, and we just found out that she is not even on the list yet at the hospital! Even though Kaia has not had an MRI, the dr decided to put her on an injection that is supposed to help her pretty quickly. Unfortunately, it has had an adverse affect on her and she has been even more sick on it. This is leading the dr to question her diagnosis and has gotten Kaia to stop the medication. As you can imagine, this is so discouraging for Kaia and Justin.

They are a young married couple and have not made any real progress on her health. Justin has had to miss a lot of work and sometimes school in order to help Kaia just be able to get around. We have found out that there is an MRI that she can get if they pay for it. It is in LA and so they would have to fly down there to get it done. They have appointments available immediately and so we are hoping that they can fly down there and get this done. At this point, they just want some answers, they do not care if it is a list that is 100 items long, they just want to be able to be proactive and get help! Justin will be starting school in September at UBC and so he will not be able to work during the school year. Kaia and Justin have decided to move in with us so that I am able to help her while Justin is gone with work in the summer and school in the fall.

I actually do not know much about GoFundMe, but a few people had suggested it to them and so I thought we should see if this would help. At this point, anything will be a huge help for them. It is always hard to ask for help, especially in a monetary way, but I would say that things are pretty difficult and any break they could get would be amazing. I am hoping that a bunch of little amounts can add up to something great for them. They would like to get this done sooner rather than later. I am hoping that we could raise enough to cover the cost of the MRI and their travel expenses. The scan will cost $2500 US, which is about $3400 CAN, darn exchange! Thank you so much for all of your thoughts and prayers and support, as a mom this has been heartbreaking for me to see, and not what I want for either of them, so if this can work and they can get some answers, that would be a step in a positive direction. Thanks again, Tara

Just wanted to add a little side note that we have looked into every place that we can find to get Kaia the MRI’s that she needs. She needs three separate types of MRI’s. The one in LA offers a full body scan in one session and it is able to give us a full work up on her entire body and organs. So we decided that this was a better option since all the places we checked cost $870 per scan and she needs three different types, and there are many more issues besides those three areas. Since these three scans are isolated, we thought that getting the full scan would give us more insight and so we decided that this was the better option. I called an MRI place this am and they actually suggested that I call the place we are wanting to go to. They have a location in vancouver but their first available appointment is at the end of January. Xoxo