Landens family has been traveling all over the US trying to get this beast under control. It has a heavy financial burden that comes with it. My hope is to help ease that burden. I can't imagine trying to figure out how to afford all the travels the motels, food, gas let alone still trying to maintain a level & strongmental attitude. If you can help out even a little please do. Here is a little back story of what this family has been going thru. Thank you
August 2012 we were given news that no parent ever wants to hear.
Your child has a mass in his orbit up towards his skull and we aren’t sure what it is.
We were devastated, Landen was 8 years old.
There were so many unknowns.
We were sent to Spokane for a biopsy.
They discovered he had a meningioma brain tumor.
It was in a location that they had never seen. The specialist in Spokane was amazing he reached out to several doctors all over the United States. He attempted to find cases that are similar to Landen’s and what he found was Landen’s diagnosis was Rare not one many had seen. And he was only able to find 8 cases in the world that were somewhat similar but none that were exact.
After several months he connected us to a world renowned brain surgeon Dr. Neil Martin at UCLA he had performed many brain surgeries with huge success.
We were relieved hoping for the best. December of 2012 we made the trip to California for a partial crainiotomy.
There main objective was to remove as much as they could without damaging his vision.
That surgery lasted 17 hours. And sadly they were only able to remove 25% of it.
A month later we went home and Landen was monitored every 3 months for any vision changes or new growth. Thru many MRI’s it was discovered it was growing again.
In 2015 we were referred to OHSU with a Dr that specializes in these types surgeries as well as trauma. He enlisted in the help of a pediatric neurosurgeon as well as a pediatric ENT.
They felt that they could remove the bulk of his tumor going in thru his eye and up his nose.
After 8 hours they came out and said they believe they removed about 90% of it.
We were so relieved to hear this. And thru all of this Landen has had minimal issues.
His vision is very minimally effected and his eye does bulge but we were very thankful this far he has had no other issues.
Within the past 6 months it was discovered that his tumor has come back and is now in his sinus cavity and brain. This was another gut punch, Landen is now 16 and this has been much more difficult on him, than in the past.
This time we were sent to the proton clinic in Seattle (a form of radiation) they recommended a surgery before introducing any radiation.
We were told he needs to have a full frontal crainiotomy at UW to remove the tumor and hope it hasn’t spread. His surgery is set for October 8th. We are heading up on October 5th for all the pre-op appointments.
And so another journey begins. In his short 16 years he has endured so much and received to many MRI’s that we have lost count. We still remain positive and steadfast in the power of prayer and our faith.
The power of prayer is so powerful, please keep Landen in your thoughts and prayers!
Thank You so much for making this drive by parade such a heartwarming event for Landen to let him know he is not alone. ❤️❤️
August 2012 we were given news that no parent ever wants to hear.
Your child has a mass in his orbit up towards his skull and we aren’t sure what it is.
We were devastated, Landen was 8 years old.
There were so many unknowns.
We were sent to Spokane for a biopsy.
They discovered he had a meningioma brain tumor.
It was in a location that they had never seen. The specialist in Spokane was amazing he reached out to several doctors all over the United States. He attempted to find cases that are similar to Landen’s and what he found was Landen’s diagnosis was Rare not one many had seen. And he was only able to find 8 cases in the world that were somewhat similar but none that were exact.
After several months he connected us to a world renowned brain surgeon Dr. Neil Martin at UCLA he had performed many brain surgeries with huge success.
We were relieved hoping for the best. December of 2012 we made the trip to California for a partial crainiotomy.
There main objective was to remove as much as they could without damaging his vision.
That surgery lasted 17 hours. And sadly they were only able to remove 25% of it.
A month later we went home and Landen was monitored every 3 months for any vision changes or new growth. Thru many MRI’s it was discovered it was growing again.
In 2015 we were referred to OHSU with a Dr that specializes in these types surgeries as well as trauma. He enlisted in the help of a pediatric neurosurgeon as well as a pediatric ENT.
They felt that they could remove the bulk of his tumor going in thru his eye and up his nose.
After 8 hours they came out and said they believe they removed about 90% of it.
We were so relieved to hear this. And thru all of this Landen has had minimal issues.
His vision is very minimally effected and his eye does bulge but we were very thankful this far he has had no other issues.
Within the past 6 months it was discovered that his tumor has come back and is now in his sinus cavity and brain. This was another gut punch, Landen is now 16 and this has been much more difficult on him, than in the past.
This time we were sent to the proton clinic in Seattle (a form of radiation) they recommended a surgery before introducing any radiation.
We were told he needs to have a full frontal crainiotomy at UW to remove the tumor and hope it hasn’t spread. His surgery is set for October 8th. We are heading up on October 5th for all the pre-op appointments.
And so another journey begins. In his short 16 years he has endured so much and received to many MRI’s that we have lost count. We still remain positive and steadfast in the power of prayer and our faith.
The power of prayer is so powerful, please keep Landen in your thoughts and prayers!
Thank You so much for making this drive by parade such a heartwarming event for Landen to let him know he is not alone. ❤️❤️
Organizer and beneficiary
Amy Semmern
Beneficiary