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Support Lindsay's Battle Against Brain Cancer

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Lindsay’s journey has been nothing short of a miracle, and she continues to inspire us every day. From battling brain cancer to overcoming a rare fungal infection, her spirit remains unbreakable. Your donations will go towards paying for Lindsay’s insurance, medical bills, and travel expenses. We have been very blessed with our situation, but any additional help will go towards giving Lindsay the freedom to focus on enjoying life to the fullest! If you can, please like, comment, and share this post to spread the word and help us reach more hearts. Together, we can make a difference in Lindsay’s fight!

In August of 2023, Lindsay began experiencing a headache that wouldn’t go away. Doctors thought Lindsay was just experiencing Migraines. Even after meeting with Neurologists, they recommended she continue taking Ibuprofen to treat the headaches she was experiencing. Eventually after a particularly bad day on November 8th, she called the doctors and told them to schedule a scan today or not it didn’t matter, because she would be there in 15 minutes to get one. She was experiencing loss of vision in her left eye, bright lights and sharp sounds were starting to cause her pain. Unfortunately, Lindsay’s worst thoughts were true, and she had developed a brain tumor. It was the cause of all of the pains she was experiencing.



Doctors weren’t even sure how Lindsay was even walking around at this point. Doctor after doctor entered the room. It was almost as if there was a revolving door to her room. Students interviewed her, asked her about her life and the things she was experiencing. She was perfectly pleasant with everyone. She always made sure to ask them how their day was. Compliment them on their fashion choices. She has always been the nicest person I have ever known.



They scheduled a surgery for the next Monday. On November 13th, they successfully removed 99.3% of Lindsays brain tumor. They used a revolutionary drug on Lindsay called Gleolan. Which helped the doctors identify the infected brain tissue during surgery, by highlighting the tissue pink while under a blacklight. They identified the tumor as a Grade 4 Glioblastoma.

Lindsay recovered from the surgery quickly. By the end of the week, she was going home to rest and recover. The next 2 weeks Lindsay started experiencing a lot of pain and confusion. She wasn’t able to sleep and couldn’t focus on things.

After returning to the hospital on Thanksgiving day for having leakage at the surgical site, Lindsay began a complex and challenging struggle to identify an unknown infection. The following 7 weeks Lindsay was in the ICU going through various treatments to save her life. At first, the doctors thought the infection was based on the surgical site. Eventually after multiple revisions of the surgical site it was discovered that Lindsay has Hydrocephalus, a condition where the brain creates excess CSF (Cerebral spinal fluid). This creates excess pressure in the head which prevented her surgical site from healing. This created a necessity for a lumbar drain. Which had to be monitored and drained every hour of the day to prevent her head from leaking and preventing the wound from healing. Unfortunately, even with the Lumbar drain and antibiotics Lindsay's infection was not going away. In the following weeks Lindsay developed Meningitis, Ventriculitis, and eventually Delirium. She is not able to remember most of the things that happened during this time.

Shortly before Christmas, the doctors scheduled an emergency craniectomy in a last ditch effort to save Lindsay’s life. The plan was to remove the lumbar drain, install a ventricular drain, and clean Lindsay’s brain of infection. Once they began surgery, they discovered that Lindsay had developed an infection in the brain flap from the surgical site. The brain flap had to be removed. It was then that the infectious disease team figured out that Lindsay was suffering from Aspergillus. A rare fungal infection that is usually found in the lungs. Lindsay had not only been fighting off brain cancer, she was also fighting a fungal infection in her brain.



The doctors began administering an Antifungal drug named Voriconazole. Lindsay quickly began recovering and by the time Christmas came around, Lindsay was on the road to recovery. She was spreading love and happiness like she normally does. Over the next few weeks she was cleared by the teams to finally go home, and began the treatment plan to fight her brain cancer.

After spending 40 days straight of chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and then 2 additional months of chemotherapy. Lindsay began experiencing daily nausea and headaches. An MRI discovered that another tumor had appeared. This time it was closer to the center of her brain. The doctors did not want to do surgery to remove the tumor, so they planned Lindsay for Stereotactic Radiosurgery. The radio surgery lasted 6 visits. Now we are awaiting an MRI to learn the results of the surgery and medication that she’s been taking.

The future plan is for Lindsay to get a 3-D printed brain plate to replace the one that was infected. This will mean that she can then wear the Optune helmet. A helmet that will emit magnetic fields into Lindsays brain to suppress tumor growth.



I met my wife Lindsay in October of 2014. She was working as an Aerospace O-Ring Inspector, and I was working as quality control inspector. One night, I was having my lunch and I noticed her still working. I was on third shift, so it wasn’t normal for anyone to be working in that room this late at night. She was working overtime, so she could save money to move out on her own. Our first date was at a work event that was at the Foxwoods casino. We rode into the casino on a party bus with work friends. Lindsay and I tried a few times to gamble that night, but it just didn’t feel right. Instead, we spent the rest of the night walking around and just talking. Every topic we discussed, we began growing closer together. We learned that day that we were Soul Mates. We haven’t stopped talking since that day. We have always been able to work through everything together. Being there for each other and supporting each other no matter what. She has always been a selfless person that constantly sacrifices herself for the people in her life. She is a beacon of happiness and joy to everyone she meets. It has been an honor and a privilege to be there for her. To support her no matter what. It’s the least I can do after being blessed with her love.

Your donations will go towards paying for Lindsay’s insurance, medical bills, and travel expenses. Lindsay has been fighting cancer and infection for almost an entire year. She has had great moral support from family and friends. We have been very blessed with our situation, but any additional help will go towards giving Lindsay the freedom to focus on enjoying life to the fullest.

Love and Best Wishes from,
Lindsay and Brandon



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    Organizer

    Brandon Pickel
    Organizer
    East Saint Louis, IL

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