Hi everyone. A dear friend/work family member has been faced with a difficult medical diagnosis. She is a busy single mom to a beautiful young son and a devoted daughter and friend. As we know that she will be out of work for a period of time, we would love to lessen her burden financially as much as possible. Thank you so much for any assistance you can offer our dear sister in Christ. Please read her message below:

Hello, my name is Kayle Johnson, and I’ve been blessed to be part of the Mayo Clinic family since April 2025, working as a Desk Operations Specialist in General Internal Medicine.

Outside of work, I’m a single mom to my sweet, loving — and very energetic — 8-year-old son, Ronin, and our 120-lb German shepherd, Max. They are my whole world.

In late July, what I thought would be a routine checkup turned my life upside down. After blood work and an ultrasound, doctors discovered multiple large masses on my thyroid and surrounding lymph nodes. On August 20, 2025, a biopsy confirmed I have papillary thyroid cancer.

This was an overwhelming shock, as I’ve never had any serious health issues before. I am scheduled for major surgery on September 23, 2025: a total thyroidectomy, bilateral central compartment lymph node dissection, and bilateral neck dissection. My recovery time will be anywhere from 2 weeks to a month.

While I am hopeful for a full recovery, this will be a very difficult time — physically, emotionally, and financially. Because I have not been with Mayo Clinic for a full year yet, I do not qualify for FMLA. As a single mother, the thought of being out of work, even temporarily, is incredibly stressful.

I truly love my job and feel so blessed to have found such an amazing team at Mayo who welcomed me with open arms. But right now, I need help to make sure I can cover basic expenses for myself and my son while I recover and focus on healing.

If you feel called to support us during this journey — whether through a donation, sharing this page, or sending encouragement — it would mean the world to me and Ronin. Every bit of help lightens our load and gives me the strength to keep moving forward.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for taking the time to read my story and for any support you can offer.

With love and gratitude,

Kayle Johnson