Donation protected
Morgan Creaser is a 32-year-old single mother of two wonderful young men, Jayden (16) and Jeffery (12), and she needs our help! She has been diagnosed with a diffuse astrocytoma idh-mutant (who grade II) tumor. It is a cancerous brain tumor that has been determined to be inoperable at this time. This type of tumor is known to spread to other parts of the brain. Her doctor’s have said that it is not a question of, if, but when and where.
Morgan’s journey to diagnosis started in November of 2020 when she had a sleepless night and felt tingling in her left arm that lasted for hours. She dismissed the tingling as a sign that she had just slept on her arm wrong, but she was still feeling off, and just not herself. She checked her blood pressure and it was 167/128. For someone that normally runs a low blood pressure, this was alarming, so she went to the nearest Emergency Room. The ER did a full work up with nothing sticking out as unusual, but they wanted to do a head CT before discharging her just to be safe. The CT showed an abnormality that needed further imaging. The ER did not have the capability, so they transferred Morgan by ambulance to Morton Plant Hospital for an MRI, and hopefully some answers. The MRI showed the tumor and an emergency biopsy was scheduled for 11/16/20. It took 6 weeks to get an answer on the biopsy. On 12/16/20, just before Christmas, Morgan was told that she indeed had a malignant brain tumor. The surgeon told her that these tumors are generally treated with surgery, then chemotherapy and radiation.
The plan was to remove nearly 50% of the tumor through surgery, then get started with chemo and radiation to continue to shrink it. Morgan went through three more MRIs to show exactly where her important cognitive and body function nerves and vessels were located in relation to the tumor. When she went in to meet with her Neurosurgeon on 1/19/21, he told her that the images showed that the tumor had grown, shifted position and was now wrapped around major nerves and vessels. He decided that surgery was no longer an option. The risks were too great. She could be left unable to speak. He also said that he would only be able to safely remove 20% of the tumor. The surgeon suggested she speak to a colleague at Moffitt Cancer Center that specializes in awake brain surgeries.
The awake surgery would give the doctor a better chance to be able to remove more of the tumor and leave her with less deficit. The Dr. at Moffitt reviewed Morgan’s case with his board and on 1/25/21 he told her that the risks just didn’t outweigh the reward. He said the risks now included stroke during surgery, paralysis, or worse.
It was at this point that all of Morgan’s doctors agreed that she should undergo 6 weeks of aggressive chemo and radiation, in an effort to shrink the tumor and hopefully be able to operate. In addition to the mental worry of having cancer, caring for her children and everyday life, she also is having terrible physical symptoms. Headaches, blurred vision and forgetfulness to name a few.
Morgan is a soldier though and she is FIGHTING! She’s receiving chemo 7 days a week and radiation 5 days per week. She began this regimen on 2/24/21 and still has weeks to go. She remains positive and faithful that she will recover. She is having some pretty serious swelling in her brain which is increasing her chances of seizure, so she has been given steroids to help with the swelling and her anti-seizure medication has been doubled. Once she gets through this initial 6 weeks of chemo and radiation, she will be given a one-month break, then go to triple doses of chemo 5 days a month for 6 months.
Every dollar raised will be used to help support Morgan and her boys through this difficult time, and is so appreciated by both Morgan and her family. Thank you and God Bless You!
Morgan’s journey to diagnosis started in November of 2020 when she had a sleepless night and felt tingling in her left arm that lasted for hours. She dismissed the tingling as a sign that she had just slept on her arm wrong, but she was still feeling off, and just not herself. She checked her blood pressure and it was 167/128. For someone that normally runs a low blood pressure, this was alarming, so she went to the nearest Emergency Room. The ER did a full work up with nothing sticking out as unusual, but they wanted to do a head CT before discharging her just to be safe. The CT showed an abnormality that needed further imaging. The ER did not have the capability, so they transferred Morgan by ambulance to Morton Plant Hospital for an MRI, and hopefully some answers. The MRI showed the tumor and an emergency biopsy was scheduled for 11/16/20. It took 6 weeks to get an answer on the biopsy. On 12/16/20, just before Christmas, Morgan was told that she indeed had a malignant brain tumor. The surgeon told her that these tumors are generally treated with surgery, then chemotherapy and radiation.
The plan was to remove nearly 50% of the tumor through surgery, then get started with chemo and radiation to continue to shrink it. Morgan went through three more MRIs to show exactly where her important cognitive and body function nerves and vessels were located in relation to the tumor. When she went in to meet with her Neurosurgeon on 1/19/21, he told her that the images showed that the tumor had grown, shifted position and was now wrapped around major nerves and vessels. He decided that surgery was no longer an option. The risks were too great. She could be left unable to speak. He also said that he would only be able to safely remove 20% of the tumor. The surgeon suggested she speak to a colleague at Moffitt Cancer Center that specializes in awake brain surgeries.
The awake surgery would give the doctor a better chance to be able to remove more of the tumor and leave her with less deficit. The Dr. at Moffitt reviewed Morgan’s case with his board and on 1/25/21 he told her that the risks just didn’t outweigh the reward. He said the risks now included stroke during surgery, paralysis, or worse.
It was at this point that all of Morgan’s doctors agreed that she should undergo 6 weeks of aggressive chemo and radiation, in an effort to shrink the tumor and hopefully be able to operate. In addition to the mental worry of having cancer, caring for her children and everyday life, she also is having terrible physical symptoms. Headaches, blurred vision and forgetfulness to name a few.
Morgan is a soldier though and she is FIGHTING! She’s receiving chemo 7 days a week and radiation 5 days per week. She began this regimen on 2/24/21 and still has weeks to go. She remains positive and faithful that she will recover. She is having some pretty serious swelling in her brain which is increasing her chances of seizure, so she has been given steroids to help with the swelling and her anti-seizure medication has been doubled. Once she gets through this initial 6 weeks of chemo and radiation, she will be given a one-month break, then go to triple doses of chemo 5 days a month for 6 months.
Every dollar raised will be used to help support Morgan and her boys through this difficult time, and is so appreciated by both Morgan and her family. Thank you and God Bless You!
Organizer and beneficiary
Kathryn Crabtree
Organizer
Middleburg, FL
Morgan Creaser
Beneficiary