Hi everyone,

My name is Ana. We are reaching out during the most difficult time in our lives to ask for support for our beloved daughter, sister, and friend Kaylani. She is a vibrant 20 year old full of life and a promising future ahead. Kaylani was a healthy, normal young adult who just started living on her own with her boyfriend in February 2025. The added carefreeness of being independent and the start of enjoying life. Kaylani is the oldest out of our 5 children. She has 3 other sisters and a baby brother. Her siblings look up to her. In just within a week our entire world turned upside down where life took a toll and Kaylani is now fighting for her life.

On Wednesday, July 16, 2025 Kaylani went to work. Her boss called her boyfriend to pick her up that night since her behavior was erratic. She was hugging every customer. Kaylani is a very shy person so it was strange of her to act that way. Her boyfriend picked her up and they head to the walk in but it was closed so they went back home. Her boyfriend thought hopefully that will subside. Her behavior only got more agressive and strange. She was emotional, loud and losing her train of thought.

Her aunt and grandma went to pick her up and brought her back home at 3am on Thursday. The next few days at home, her legs and arms would stiffen up and it was getting harder to feed her. Her behavior was still strange and erratic. She was not getting better.

On Monday, July 21st Kaylani had a sudden seizure with no prior warning while laying on the couch. Her lips were turning blue and purple as her body was shaking uncontrollably and she had stopped breathing. Panicked I called 911 and first responder were on the scene within 5 minutes. We were able to finally get her to breathe again but it was very weak and faint. I thought I was going to lose my daughter that day. She was taken to the ER. Initial CT scan, toxicology test, blood work came back normal; however there was a large mass in her stomach. She had always complained about her stomach cramping up really bad when it was her time of the month but I found out lately she's been seeing blood with her urine and her migraines were every day and even worse than the ones before. An MRI was ordered and she was admitted to the hospital that same day.

Many tests were done to determine what the cause of the seizure was as she was completely normal and this was out of the ordinary. There is no family history of seizures in either her dad or my family. MRI was done and it was determined that she has a large mass tumor on her left ovary. It basically took over her left ovary and can no longer be saved so surgery had to be done to remove her entire left ovary and fallopian tube. She will still have her uterus and right ovary. Kaylani would still have normal menstrual cycles even with one ovary and would still be able to have kids in the future. I was devastated but the mass had to be removed as soon as possible and scheduled for the next day.

This mass was a rare ovarian tumor called teratoma. It somehow developed brain cell (neural) tissues such as skin, hair, teeth, cartilage and bone. The presence of the neural tissue caused a rare autoimmune condition called anti-NMDAR encephalitis where the body's immune system attacks brain cells possibly triggered by the neural tissue in the tumor.

Surgery went well on Wednesday, July 23rd and only 4 small incisions were made around the abdomen to remove the mass instead of the doctor having to do a c-section cut to get the mass out. The mass was sent to pathology to test for cancer. While we wait for results, spinal tap was done, more blood work lab. She was unable to breathe calmly and a has been intubated, placed on a ventilator and feeding tube. She would open her eyes but was unresponsive and was very heavily sedated.

Friday, July 24th we got a call from the gyncologist doctor confirming to us that the results from the mass shows it was cancerous and she would need to undergo chemo as well but that couldn't happen yet until she is awake and alert. Many more tests were done to see if Kaylani has any infections or anything else as she wasn't waking up completely.

Complications have continued to escalate everyday. She is now batting a persistent high fever that doctors are struggling to control every day. Pneumonia in the lungs due to the breathing tube. The urgent need for a plasma exchange (plasmapheresis) is required to help take the blood by using a machine to separate the plasma from the blood. Then they replace the plasma with fluid, adding the replacement fluid to the blood and return the blood to her body.

We got results on Tuesday from her lumbar puncture spinal fluid test. It came back positive for MDA (malondialdehyde) which is inflammation in the brain. The inflammation is due to to the tumor which happened to be sending antibodies to attack her brain. Any time Kaylani moves her arms and legs, her temperature would go up and the only thing was to sedate her so she is calm in order to keep her fever down. Another CT scan was done on the head, chest, stomach and pelvic and it didn't show signs of the cancer spreading anywhere.

UW Madison and Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee have been contacted to see if they have room available for her but they were full. One room was available at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN and they planned on moving her Thursday, July 31st. That would be a 3.5 hour commute there and we have no immediate family that lives there. It is going to be rough with medical expenses and travel to be with her every chance we get.

Kaylani's case is so complex and rare and she was airlifted to Mayo Clinic in Rochester today, 7/31/25.

We are devastated, overwhelmed and praying for a miracle. Kaylani is a sweet, goofy, funny, kind, caring person with her whole life ahead of her. She had dreams, goals and a heart full of love--and we believe she is fighting inside to come home.

This journey has already placed an enormous financial burden on our family-from hospital stays and treatments, to surgeries, med flight transport and long term rehabilitation. We are humbly asking for any support you can give, whether it's a donation, a prayer, or simply sharing this page with others.

Every dollar will go directly toward Kaylani's medical expenses, transportation, and supporting her recovery once she wakes up.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for standing by us during this difficult time.

With love and hope,

Ana (mom)