Support Bryan Curtis's Spinal Cord Tumor Surgery & Recovery

Dear friends, family, and community,

Today I reach out to you with a heavy heart. Bryan has been through a harrowing ordeal, and he needs our support.

Bryan Curtis, a 48-year-old husband, father, and public school teacher, was born with an extremely rare spinal cord tumor.

Discovery of the Tumor

The tumor was discovered in 1989 when Bryan was 13 years old. One morning, Bryan woke up for school and could not feel his legs. He fell over when he tried to get out of bed.

Bryan’s parents rushed him to a local hospital in VA, where the spinal cord tumor was discovered by MRI.

Bryan was diagnosed with a benign intradural, extramedullary dermoid tumor located at the L2-L3 region of his spinal cord.

This means that Bryan’s tumor was inside the spinal cord covering as well as within the spinal cord itself.

Emergency Surgery

Bryan was immediately transported by helicopter to Children’s Hospital in Washington, DC, where he had emergency surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible.

The tumor could not be removed completely. Removal from the spinal cord itself would mean Bryan would never walk again or have any function from the waist down.

Bryan was home recovering for a few months, but he bounced back and returned to school and normal life with friends and his big, loving family. He thought dealing with the tumor was behind him.

It's Back

In 2000, when he was 24, Bryan started having pain in his left leg. He worked as a picture framer and thought the pain was due to operating the frame cutter with that leg.

However, Bryan’s symptoms quickly progressed to extreme pain and numbness in his leg and difficulty walking. The tumor had returned.

Fight for Surgery

Bryan could not afford surgery since he didn’t have health insurance. He was in agony for months and was left with permanent numbness on his left thigh. Eventually, Bryan convinced his employer to provide insurance so that he could have surgery.

“Save Bryan” Benefit Concert

Bryan was the lead singer of a metal band. The Northern Virginia music community rallied around him and held a benefit concert called Save Bryan to help with medical bills not covered by insurance.

Surgery Again the Following Year

After another long, grueling recovery, Bryan was horrified when his symptoms returned the very next year.

Bryan’s third surgery in 2001 was much more difficult since his body had barely recovered from surgery the year before.

Then the following year in 2002, the worst happened: all the terrible symptoms returned again.

Outpatient Procedure Developed for Bryan

Bryan’s neurosurgeon, Dr. Ben Nguyen, would not perform another surgery, claiming it would be too hard on Bryan’s body after surgery in 2000 and 2001.

Dr. Nguyen collaborated with Dr. Richard Circeo, a neuroradiologist, to develop an outpatient procedure to relieve the pressure of the tumor on Bryan’s spinal cord.

They adapted a lumbar puncture procedure, known as a spinal tap, to insert a needle into the tumor to extract fluid and shrink it temporarily.

Miraculously, it worked! The procedure initially relieved symptoms for over a year and gradually moved to about every 5 months. Bryan was beyond grateful for this procedure.

Bryan thought this outpatient procedure would be his miracle cure for the rest of his life.

Life Is Good

The procedure gave Bryan the freedom to thrive. He completed his education, married the love of his life, had a beautiful daughter, and started working as a middle school science teacher. He was able to build the life he always dreamed of.

Shocking News

After more than two decades of doing the outpatient procedure, Bryan received shocking news in early October 2024. The procedure was no longer an option. His tumor had changed composition with no fluid left to extract.

Bryan needed to have emergency surgery with a neurosurgeon specializing in his rare spinal cord tumor. Dr. Nguyen had since retired.

Amazingly, Bryan found and secured one of the top specialists in the country in less than a week.

Bryan had spinal cord tumor surgery with Dr. Mari Groves at Johns Hopkins Hospital on Monday, October 28, 2024.

How Your Support Helps

As many of you know, Bryan is the backbone of his family, a loving husband, a devoted father, and a dedicated teacher.

Any financial support would ease the stress of the cost of surgery and expenses while Bryan is out of work recovering over the next few months.

Unfortunately, Bryan does not qualify for disability (pre-existing condition). As a schoolteacher, he receives very little paid time off, with most of it already used on past outpatient procedures.

Your support would also help with his family’s travel expenses for the week spent in Baltimore during Bryan’s hospital stay.

In addition, it would alleviate the cost of upcoming travel to appointments at Johns Hopkins as well as future surgery expenses.

Yes, Bryan’s neurosurgeon confirmed there will be more surgeries in the future.

This is where we come in. Together we can make a difference. We have set up a GoFundMe campaign to rally support for Bryan’s spinal cord tumor surgery and recovery. Every contribution, no matter how big or small, will make a significant impact.

Your generosity will not only help alleviate the financial burden but also provide emotional support to Bryan and his family during this challenging time.

Here’s how you can help: Please share this campaign with your networks, friends, and colleagues. Your outreach can create a ripple effect that will reach far beyond our immediate circles.

Let's come together as a community to support Bryan in this fight. You can make the difference between despair and hope, and we believe in the power of our collective strength.

Thank you for being a source of hope and support for Bryan and his family. Your love, kindness, prayers, and contributions are deeply appreciated.

With gratitude,

Bryan and Jess’s family and friends