Micah's Fight Against Brain Cancer

Our Story

On the night of Sunday, January 29th our family began a life-changing journey. A path that has led us to St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis, where we will overcome our child’s life-threatening disease called Pineoblastoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer in the brain and spine.

Brief Timeline

January 31st, 2023 - Found a mass in the center of his brain on his Pineal Gland about the diameter of a quarter. The tumor had grown large enough to block the drainage of his Cerebral Spinal Fluid, causing the hydrocephalus symptoms and pain he had been experiencing.

February 2nd, 2023 - First endoscopic cranial procedure to take a biopsy and stabilize the fluid pressure build up in his brain.

February 7th, 2023 - Second more serious cranial procedure to remove the tumor, comparable to getting hit by a small truck.

February 13th, 2023 - Tumor diagnosed as Pineoblastoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer in the brain and spine.

February 16th, 2023 - Invited to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis to get specialized treatment for Micah’s rare disease. T

February 28th, 2023 - St. Jude does a full MRI of the brain and spine that would reveal about a centimeter worth of residual tumor at the original site and a small lesion at another site.

Due to his risk profile being high, the plan was put in place to immediately start proton radiation treatment for 6 weeks, followed by about a month of recovery before starting 4 months of chemotherapy.

March 8th, 2023 - Micah had a permanent port surgically placed in his chest under the skin which is used for daily sedation and will be used for the chemotherapy infusions.

March 16th, 2023 - Began daily radiation treatments. The scariest thing about these treatments is the long-term effect they will have on his central nervous system, spine and brain.

How Funds Raised will be Used

Our focus for fundraising is not Micah's current or near future medical expenses. We have been very fortunate to be accepted into St. Jude where Micah's medical expenses are covered and some amount of support for housing and food is provided. We have not yet gotten our bills from Joe DiMaggio's Children's Hospital in Florida where his surgeries were performed and he spent 2 full weeks in ICU but we have medical insurance and hope that these expenses will be covered.

Instead, we are raising funds for two primary reasons.

First: The long-term support Micah will need to overcome the impacts of his treatments. The radiation treatment will have lifelong impacts on Micah's cognitive development and we have been told to expect an individual education plan and ongoing therapy to stay on course for a full life ahead.

Second: Our family has fully committed to winning this fight and has relocated to Memphis and rented an apartment for the next 6 months. We have suspended our primary source of income and we have withdrawn our 6-year-old son Kendyn from public school in Florida. We seek support to offset the financial impact of this relocation, the costs of short-term private education, occupational therapy, future therapy related to this trauma and temporary loss of income.

Sincerely,

The Hartley Family

Micah, Kendyn, Kristine & Jericho