The third week of April 2024, Viv and her husband, John, visited an NC beach for Spring Break with their two teenage children (a rising high school freshman and a rising high school senior). Unfortunately, on their first full day of vacation, Viv suffered a seizure. Rushing to Viv's aid, John discovered her unconscious on the floor with blue lips. After being admitted to the ER at the beach, the doctors discovered Viv had a 2.5 cm tumor in the left frontal lobe of her brain.

Once back in NYC, the incredible doctors at NYU performed brain surgery to remove 95% of the malignant tumor. After surgery, Viv's team diagnosed her with a fast-growing, Grade 3, anaplastic oligodendroglioma. Although, no one ever wants to receive the diagnosis of a brain tumor, Viv is grateful that the type of tumor she has is usually responsive to appropriate and intense treatment, so the family has focused on getting Viv the medical treatment she needs.

Since her surgery, Viv has been undergoing radiation to put the remaining 5% of tumor cells to ‘sleep’ by receiving treatment daily Monday through Friday. Her doctors initially prescribed an oral chemotherapy, but have now decided she needs an aggressive IV chemotherapy, which she will receive later this summer.

For now, the treatment regimen requires Viv to travel back and forth to NYU, meaning she spends ~3-5 hours/day five days a week to get her radiation treatment. When she arrives home, she must rest to make sure her body can fight the cancer. Oligodendrogliomas can cause changes in a person's behavior, personality, and may cause cognitive challenges, especially when the tumor is located in the frontal lobe of the brain, which is where Viv's remaining tumor is. Viv is still as vibrant and witty as ever, but she is experiencing some aphasia (brain disorder resulting in an inability to communicate). The brain tumor has impacted Viv's ability to communicate and combined with the side effects from her treatment means she is unable to work.

Through all of the medical turmoil, John has continued to work. John began his own business during the pandemic and he is working harder than ever to provide for their family of four living in NYC. In the aftermath of Viv's diagnosis, John is now the single-income provider along with managing the home (making meals, paying bills, laundry, etc.), and caretaking (managing medications and appointments for Viv, supporting their children during this stressful time). At times over the past few months, John has had to make the difficult decision to turn down projects in order to be available for his family.

Although Viv & John. have health insurance, the expectation for Viv's treatment is that she will continue to incur medical expenses (deductibles, co-pays, and insurance premiums) throughout the rest of 2024 and 2025 (with monitoring and follow up). Viv and John will continue to be a single-income family until Viv's tumor has been put to 'sleep' and her brain has recovered its full functionality. So for the next 12-18 months, Viv & John will need as much financial help as possible to offset expenses such as transportation to and from appointments, rent, utilities, meals, child-related expenses (e.g., tuition/educational opportunities) and Viv's medical expenses.

We appreciate any and all contributions to provide financial help to Viv & John and their children as they tackle this monumental life event that no one wishes to face.