Martín's Brain Cancer and Injury Support
Donation protected
Martín is a beautiful, feisty, and bright 16-month-old baby to parents Emma and Frank. His family calls him pura risa or “only smiles” because he is constantly smiling and laughing.
Martín had an MRI on August 10th for symptoms of hydrocephalus and a mass was found in his brain. He went to Seattle Children’s where he had a biopsy to determine what the mass was and a procedure to treat the hydrocephalus. On August 11th, Martín was diagnosed with Pineoblastoma. Pineoblastoma is a rare, very aggressive malignant form of brain cancer. Pineoblastoma occurs in the pineal gland and can metastases to other parts of the brain or spinal cord. He was given a survival rate of 50%.
On August 15th, he had a craniotomy and resection to take out the tumor. He woke up with several complications due to injury during surgery. His tumor was growing into his thalamus and had to be taken off the thalamus, causing some injury. The thalamus controls a lot of sensory input information so how he feels, hears, sees, and interacts with different sensations. This is also affecting his awareness and consciousness which will improve gradually. The following days have shown a lot of improvement, but he will have many therapies and a long road to work towards where he was before surgery and may never get back to that baseline. He is currently recovering from surgery and healing in order to start aggressive chemo and radiation therapy.
This will be a very hard, long road. Because pineoblastoma is so aggressive and hard to treat, his treatment will be a combination of resection (taking out the tumor), chemotherapy, and radiation. He will be inpatient for his chemotherapy treatments and do outpatient radiation. When he is home, he will be recovering from treatment with a special diet and activity requirements, as well as trying to achieve developmental goals appropriate to his age. Because of COVID-19, it will be increasingly important to protect his fragile immune system from infection.
What will these funds go to?
The funds raised here will go to offsetting the loss of income for Martín’s family as Emma takes likely a year or more off of work to be his full-time caregiver. Frank will also work less to help support Emma and Martín through this process. Because of COVID-19, no visitors are allowed at the hospital besides two caregivers, increasing the burden of care on Emma and Frank.
Frank and Emma are currently applying for Washington Paid Medical Leave, but that only lasts 3-4 months and pays a percentage of her income. They will have typical expenses like rent, utilities, loan payments, groceries, etc. to continue paying while providing 24/7 care and support to Martín.
These funds will also go to offset medical bills, out-of-pocket max and deductible, and uncovered/unknown costs of treatment. Martin will likely have OT, PT, vision, and speech therapy for months to years due to the injury to his brain during surgery.
This will also go toward food, for the family and primarily for Emma while she caregives in the hospital. Hospitals do not give caregivers meals during inpatient stay and the cost of eating from their food service adds up very quickly. Funds will help Emma eat when needed without extra cost burden.
Additional funds, will be used for extra, unforeseen needs for Martín’s treatment and to create a safe and comfortable environment for him to come home to in between hospital stays. This includes equipment and supplies to increase food safety in the kitchen, air purifiers, cleaning supplies, organic food when possible, potential alternative medicine treatment when approved by his doctor, and other regular needs of a toddler like clothes, diapers, shoes, and toys.
Loving Martín
Martín is loved by so many people and we know all of you hold him and his family in your hearts right now. The outpour of support has been tremendous, and Emma and Frank know that they have a beautiful community ready to be with them through this journey. Besides donating, other ways to show some love to Martín and the fam include sending cards with well wishes, donating gift cards for gas or groceries, games and books for hospital stay, or soft warm things for to keep him comfy during chemo. Emails and text messages are great! Any words of support and encouragement help. We cannot express how grateful we are for all of you.
Martín had an MRI on August 10th for symptoms of hydrocephalus and a mass was found in his brain. He went to Seattle Children’s where he had a biopsy to determine what the mass was and a procedure to treat the hydrocephalus. On August 11th, Martín was diagnosed with Pineoblastoma. Pineoblastoma is a rare, very aggressive malignant form of brain cancer. Pineoblastoma occurs in the pineal gland and can metastases to other parts of the brain or spinal cord. He was given a survival rate of 50%.
On August 15th, he had a craniotomy and resection to take out the tumor. He woke up with several complications due to injury during surgery. His tumor was growing into his thalamus and had to be taken off the thalamus, causing some injury. The thalamus controls a lot of sensory input information so how he feels, hears, sees, and interacts with different sensations. This is also affecting his awareness and consciousness which will improve gradually. The following days have shown a lot of improvement, but he will have many therapies and a long road to work towards where he was before surgery and may never get back to that baseline. He is currently recovering from surgery and healing in order to start aggressive chemo and radiation therapy.
This will be a very hard, long road. Because pineoblastoma is so aggressive and hard to treat, his treatment will be a combination of resection (taking out the tumor), chemotherapy, and radiation. He will be inpatient for his chemotherapy treatments and do outpatient radiation. When he is home, he will be recovering from treatment with a special diet and activity requirements, as well as trying to achieve developmental goals appropriate to his age. Because of COVID-19, it will be increasingly important to protect his fragile immune system from infection.
What will these funds go to?
The funds raised here will go to offsetting the loss of income for Martín’s family as Emma takes likely a year or more off of work to be his full-time caregiver. Frank will also work less to help support Emma and Martín through this process. Because of COVID-19, no visitors are allowed at the hospital besides two caregivers, increasing the burden of care on Emma and Frank.
Frank and Emma are currently applying for Washington Paid Medical Leave, but that only lasts 3-4 months and pays a percentage of her income. They will have typical expenses like rent, utilities, loan payments, groceries, etc. to continue paying while providing 24/7 care and support to Martín.
These funds will also go to offset medical bills, out-of-pocket max and deductible, and uncovered/unknown costs of treatment. Martin will likely have OT, PT, vision, and speech therapy for months to years due to the injury to his brain during surgery.
This will also go toward food, for the family and primarily for Emma while she caregives in the hospital. Hospitals do not give caregivers meals during inpatient stay and the cost of eating from their food service adds up very quickly. Funds will help Emma eat when needed without extra cost burden.
Additional funds, will be used for extra, unforeseen needs for Martín’s treatment and to create a safe and comfortable environment for him to come home to in between hospital stays. This includes equipment and supplies to increase food safety in the kitchen, air purifiers, cleaning supplies, organic food when possible, potential alternative medicine treatment when approved by his doctor, and other regular needs of a toddler like clothes, diapers, shoes, and toys.
Loving Martín
Martín is loved by so many people and we know all of you hold him and his family in your hearts right now. The outpour of support has been tremendous, and Emma and Frank know that they have a beautiful community ready to be with them through this journey. Besides donating, other ways to show some love to Martín and the fam include sending cards with well wishes, donating gift cards for gas or groceries, games and books for hospital stay, or soft warm things for to keep him comfy during chemo. Emails and text messages are great! Any words of support and encouragement help. We cannot express how grateful we are for all of you.
Co-organizers (3)
Emma Carrillo
Organizer
Seattle, WA
Anne Rogerson
Co-organizer
Frank Teran
Co-organizer