Noah's brain tumor battle, mind over matter.

Hi!!

My name is Stephanie Traynor, I am a lifelong resident of the Fox River Valley and a small business owner. My husband, Scott, is a local trustee for the Village of East Dundee. We love our community and have seen the community come together in powerful ways to support one another. Knowing the ability our community

has to lift one another up is why I am reaching out today to fund-raise support for my brother, Noah, and his family.

My brother, Noah Traynor, has had some serious health struggles over the last two years. A little background on Noah, Noah married his high-school sweetheart, Lauren, shortly after High School. Noah enlisted in the Army in 2004 and served in “Operation Enduring Freedom”. Noah was stationed in Afghanistan from March 2006-2007 with the 10th Mountain Division. Noah and Lauren both care about making an impact in their communities. After his time in the military, Noah and Lauren started a family in Champaign, IL. They have two beautiful children, John and Lucy. While in Champaign Lauren worked with at-risk youth and Noah worked in mental health services. In addition to their very full plate, Noah earned two bachelor's degrees during this time, one in general studies and one in Information technologies.

In 2021 Noah and Lauren moved back to the Fox River Valley to be closer to family and friends!! It turned out there was some serendipity or divine intervention in the timing of this move because in April 2021 Noah was diagnosed with an egg-sized meningioma. Three days after diagnosis, on his daughter's 8th birthday, Noah had surgery to remove the mass. That summer Noah did 6 weeks of proton beam radiation therapy. In the spring of 2022 Noah had several seizures which caused permanent disability on his left side. Doctors at Northwestern took over his care and diagnosed Noah with radiation necrosis (an unfortunate side effect of the radiation treatment he received) The radiation necrosis caused swelling of brain tissues. Doctors treated the swelling with Avastin infusions through the fall of 2022. Signs and symptoms of swelling returned this past winter and last month Noah had his 2nd craniotomy to remove necrotic tissue and explore for any other potential threats. Biopsy results from that surgery thankfully did not show any new tumor growth. The necrotic tissues seem to be the main challenge. We are hopeful that Noah will find improvement in his energy, focus, and mobility as he continues to work on healing.

Noah and Lauren are two of the most disciplined people I know when it comes to positive thinking. I imagine they strengthened those skills in their careers, helping folks work through challenges and celebrate simple everyday victories. So now I am asking our community to come together and support Noah and Lauren. Noah wants to be able to put his energy into time with his kids and wife. We all know that stress is

an energy zapper and when you have medical challenges it just compounds all of that stress and exhaustion. This is where we can help!! We can reduce some of the stress by showing Noah and Lauren that their community is here to support them.

In conjunction with this "go fund me" page, we are having a fundraiser event on Saturday, May 27th from 3pm-6pm at Black and Grey Brewing in East Dundee . Funds raised will help adapt Noah's home to better meet his current needs. (like a more accessible bathroom) And whatever helps reduce stress so Noah and Lauren can have more energy to enjoy family time with the kids.

I am looking forward to lifting Noah and his family up and encouraging them while they navigate these challenges. May is brain tumor awareness month and we are eager to bring more education, encouragement and hope surrounding brain tumors. Thank you for joining us in this effort.

Stephanie Traynor