Supporting Max Wilford of MaxLove Project
Donation protected
Our friends, Audra and Justin Wilford, need your help. Their 12-year-old son, Max, the inspiration for their childhood cancer nonprofit MaxLove Project, is facing a new difficult battle in his unimaginable 8-year brain cancer journey. With new tumor growth in the brainstem, Max is in uncharted waters.
Who We Are: We are friends of the Wilfords and we're coming together the support them through Max's next battle. The family will need our support to fully fund Max's care because much of what they will do to support Max is not covered by insurance.
Why We're Fundraising: Funds raised will be used with the utmost care to offset costs for Max's medical procedures and related travel expenses as well as his integrative therapies (such as functional medicine care, acupuncture, physical therapy, IV Vitamin C, supplements, HBOT, keto, and cannabis care, none of which is covered by insurance) to give him the best chance at thrivership. We are also hoping that the Wilfords can do some of the things as a family that Max's has been wanting to do, since his Make-A-Wish trip was so many years ago after he was first diagnosed.
An excerpt from Audra’s update on October 2:
Our bright-eyed boy is facing another mountain in this journey. It’s been eight years, five brain surgeries, almost two years of chemo, IMRT radiation, gamma knife, and tons of love, TCM, Keto, etc. throughout. He will now undergo a spinal surgery to obtain a biopsy. The tumor in the brainstem is diffuse and can’t be touched, but the part that extends to the spinal cord can be, with less risk anyway. The goal will be to get new tumor data for targeted therapies. It cannot be left untreated, we can’t watch and wait, we’ve gotta take it down.
An excerpt from Audra’s update on October 16:
I wish we had more of an update on Max but it’s all in the works. Second and third opinions, insurance denials, appeals, and heroic support from experts across the country. We’re planning on a surgical consult at Stanford that we’ll pay for out of pocket and waiting on just one more opinion. The challenges we face are vastly differing opinions on biopsy locations, each location representing a balance between risk and the hope of data acquisition.
An excerpt from Audra’s update on October 21:
Rush and wait. Insurance approved our request for a surgical consult at Stanford. We’re trying to schedule the appointment with the insurance approval making its way via satellite to all of the computers that let people make decisions. Talking with Max, we’ve come up with some very direct questions for this surgeon. Max is considering how much risk he’ll accept for the hope of data that could lead to targeted therapies. 50% risk of paralysis, that’s too high for him. 25% is questionable. ANY % risk...that’s a lot, maybe too much for a 12 year-old to take on. He’s not taking it on alone, but he’s a full part of making this decision. We’re in new territory.
The surgery proposed by Stanford is possible because they’ve pioneered the procedure of removing tissue from the brainstem. The tumor is diffuse, intertwined with healthy brain tissue, and therefore cannot be touched, with traditional methods anyway. The feeling is that we can get the most tumor-infused tissue from the brainstem to be used for testing, but it’s also the highest risk. Our team believes there’s disease in the spine that can be biopsied with risk, but it’s more manageable overall. We’re working in and between these expert opinions. We’re in limbo, a no man’s land between one tough decision and another.
Getting the data that comes with risky biopsy (due to tumor location) holds the hope of targeted therapy. Without the data we don’t know what this new growth is, or how to treat it. If we don’t treat it Max won’t survive.
So many of us have been helped, inspired, and encouraged by Audra, Justin, Max, and Maesie. Despite their own child’s cancer diagnosis, Audra and Justin are always the first to support others, offering love and light selflessly with grace and compassion. Now it’s our turn to help them, because the medical and associated costs for this next step in Max’s cancer journey will be more than they’ve ever faced before. Every little bit helps, so please donate if you can. Funds raised will be utilized with the utmost care to offset costs for Max's medical procedures and related travel expenses. Funds will also allow Max to continue on his integrated therapies such as cannabis, acupuncture, CrossFit, supplements, HBOT, keto to give him the best chance at long term thrivership.
Our deepest gratitude for taking this tangible step to being part of Max's army, and for loving on our dearly beloved Wilford family.
***Please be aware that funds donated here are not tax-deductible donations to MaxLove Project. This is an individual fundraiser for the Wilford family to help offset Max’s medical costs.
Who We Are: We are friends of the Wilfords and we're coming together the support them through Max's next battle. The family will need our support to fully fund Max's care because much of what they will do to support Max is not covered by insurance.
Why We're Fundraising: Funds raised will be used with the utmost care to offset costs for Max's medical procedures and related travel expenses as well as his integrative therapies (such as functional medicine care, acupuncture, physical therapy, IV Vitamin C, supplements, HBOT, keto, and cannabis care, none of which is covered by insurance) to give him the best chance at thrivership. We are also hoping that the Wilfords can do some of the things as a family that Max's has been wanting to do, since his Make-A-Wish trip was so many years ago after he was first diagnosed.
An excerpt from Audra’s update on October 2:
Our bright-eyed boy is facing another mountain in this journey. It’s been eight years, five brain surgeries, almost two years of chemo, IMRT radiation, gamma knife, and tons of love, TCM, Keto, etc. throughout. He will now undergo a spinal surgery to obtain a biopsy. The tumor in the brainstem is diffuse and can’t be touched, but the part that extends to the spinal cord can be, with less risk anyway. The goal will be to get new tumor data for targeted therapies. It cannot be left untreated, we can’t watch and wait, we’ve gotta take it down.
An excerpt from Audra’s update on October 16:
I wish we had more of an update on Max but it’s all in the works. Second and third opinions, insurance denials, appeals, and heroic support from experts across the country. We’re planning on a surgical consult at Stanford that we’ll pay for out of pocket and waiting on just one more opinion. The challenges we face are vastly differing opinions on biopsy locations, each location representing a balance between risk and the hope of data acquisition.
An excerpt from Audra’s update on October 21:
Rush and wait. Insurance approved our request for a surgical consult at Stanford. We’re trying to schedule the appointment with the insurance approval making its way via satellite to all of the computers that let people make decisions. Talking with Max, we’ve come up with some very direct questions for this surgeon. Max is considering how much risk he’ll accept for the hope of data that could lead to targeted therapies. 50% risk of paralysis, that’s too high for him. 25% is questionable. ANY % risk...that’s a lot, maybe too much for a 12 year-old to take on. He’s not taking it on alone, but he’s a full part of making this decision. We’re in new territory.
The surgery proposed by Stanford is possible because they’ve pioneered the procedure of removing tissue from the brainstem. The tumor is diffuse, intertwined with healthy brain tissue, and therefore cannot be touched, with traditional methods anyway. The feeling is that we can get the most tumor-infused tissue from the brainstem to be used for testing, but it’s also the highest risk. Our team believes there’s disease in the spine that can be biopsied with risk, but it’s more manageable overall. We’re working in and between these expert opinions. We’re in limbo, a no man’s land between one tough decision and another.
Getting the data that comes with risky biopsy (due to tumor location) holds the hope of targeted therapy. Without the data we don’t know what this new growth is, or how to treat it. If we don’t treat it Max won’t survive.
So many of us have been helped, inspired, and encouraged by Audra, Justin, Max, and Maesie. Despite their own child’s cancer diagnosis, Audra and Justin are always the first to support others, offering love and light selflessly with grace and compassion. Now it’s our turn to help them, because the medical and associated costs for this next step in Max’s cancer journey will be more than they’ve ever faced before. Every little bit helps, so please donate if you can. Funds raised will be utilized with the utmost care to offset costs for Max's medical procedures and related travel expenses. Funds will also allow Max to continue on his integrated therapies such as cannabis, acupuncture, CrossFit, supplements, HBOT, keto to give him the best chance at long term thrivership.
Our deepest gratitude for taking this tangible step to being part of Max's army, and for loving on our dearly beloved Wilford family.
***Please be aware that funds donated here are not tax-deductible donations to MaxLove Project. This is an individual fundraiser for the Wilford family to help offset Max’s medical costs.
Co-organizers (7)
Kelly Laule
Organizer
Santa Ana, CA
Audra DiPadova
Beneficiary
Emily Frye
Co-organizer
Queenie Wong
Co-organizer
Courtney Collins
Co-organizer
Erica Balkhi
Co-organizer