To visit Aiden
Donation protected
As many of you already know, Aiden has been accepted into a trial at St. Jude in Tennessee. So now Aiden is in the States with his brother Declan and his mom. Lynkon has been doing a great job while his mom and brothers are away. But he is, of course, missing them very much just as they are him. So I am planning a trip to bring Lynkon to see his brothers and mom.
Some may know that I have also had to take some time off work to deal with some of my own medical issues so funds are tight. I am making this new GoFundMe so this isn't confused with my previous one. I would also like to say thank you to everyone that has helped and support us. I really don't have words to describe how grateful I am to have the support we have and live in the community we live in.
I plan to head down around March 6th because there is a movie Aiden has wanted to see for quite some time coming out then. We would like to be able to stay for a week so the boys will be able to spend time with eachother. Give Aiden and Declan and myself some time together. And give their mom a break with some appointments so she can spend some much needed time with Lynkon. Depending on whether we drive or fly, I have calculated that we will need between $3500-$4250 cad for the trip. I've made the goal $5000 because anything extra will go to making more memories on the trip and to any unexpected costs.
Thank you for your consideration.
Josh
The Background: (from my previous fund)
In September 2016 I got a call no parent, or person, ever wants to get. I was driving home from town thinking of everything I would need for that weekend at the trailer. While hoping Aiden would be back from the hospital soon enough, with a reasonable enough excuse for his recent symptoms, to come along as well. Only to get a call telling me not to worry but to get to the hospital right away. There was no hiding the horror and fear in that voice, needing me there but also wanting me to make it. From the call to getting to the hospital is a blur of anger and tears.
I later found out that Aiden had a peach sized tumor at the base of his brain stem. It was why he had been losing his balance, falling asleep for hours, throwing up at random times. All things that would or should have screamed THERE IS A PROBLEM, but mid summer, 7-year-old boy who doesn’t stop running around at the trailer, barely eating… it was easy to think he just needed to drink more water, finish his dinner or pay attention to his surroundings. All things I beat myself up over for the months to come.
As we looked at the scans, I could hear the doctor talking but really only heard a few words. Key words that crushed my already fragile spirt. Blood vessels, he said the tumor had developed blood vessels. Which meant it was feeding it self. Surgery, which was clearly inevitable, would be much more dangerous. If brain surgery wasn’t bad enough, trying to cut a tumor out that had its own vasculature system worsened the odds even further. Slip one way brain damage, slip the other blood everywhere and death. Thank God our surgeon was amazing. 20+ hour surgery and Aiden was out.
Fast forward to December 2017. We had gotten home three months previous in September. Just staring to think it might be okay to stop worrying so much. Treatments were over. Physical rehabilitation, in hospital, was over. Trying to find a new normal. At that point we had to go in for follow-up MRIs to make sure things were normal and the cancer wasn’t growing… that scan, we weren’t so lucky.
We had done what they said. We fought for the fancy proton radiation. Took their advice on the chemotherapeutic drugs when we got back. Did what we were supposed to. But cancer doesn’t care. It had metastasized to another part of his brain. At this point I couldn’t let them keep bullying me into making their choices.
Canada is a weird place. Great in so many ways, it also has it faults. With so many cases here and even south of us in states like California people are treating cancer with cannabis. Some as a primary treatment and others as secondary or in conjunction with. I recently met a boy in there that had a brain tumor who is now cancer free! In Canada, even though recently legal our doctors are afraid to even look at the many cases where cannabis has killed cancer. Whether it’s due to fear of scorn or a legitimate lack of knowledge, this should no longer be allowed. Our children deserve better than 5% of cancer research funding.
Back when we had Aiden on chemo, we had stopped giving him CBD oil, the first thing a doctor will authorize a child to use if at all, because it could have an interaction with one of the chemo drugs, vincristine. I didn’t want to but after researching it I agreed the likelihood of an interaction was high. This whole time, from the first mention of cancer through to finding out it had come back. I had a tiny shred of hope, that cannabis could possibly work for Aiden. I had researched it for years, almost got sick of the idea that cannabis could be used for cancer. Then Aiden was diagnosed with medulloblastoma and it all made sense.
One of the projects I had in school lead me to a company that was doing clinical trails on cannabis use with chemo to help treat cancer. They saw improvement in life expectancy. Along with many other people that I’ve now had the honour of talking to and in some cases meeting.
After getting Aiden on this chemotherapeutic and special cannabis oil with a unique ratio of cannabinoids, not a secret just ask, he has had 2 scans that stabilized, 1 where it reduced in size by 25% and a fourth that is stable. This was after having another scan that had shown the cancer had metastasized beyond the point it had in December. Due to the ratio of cannabinoids, not available in Canada, and the desire to have impeccably clean material to make Aiden’s medicine with, I have been making the oil myself.
So, I am asking for help, and am writing to offer it. If there are other parents out there that have questions. Looking for resources. Needing to talk with another parent that’s been and is going through their own fire. Just ask.
A friend recently told me. “Surely you can feel overwhelmed, but don’t let it stop you from doing what needs to be done.” And as hard as it is some days, for these boys, anything is worth it!
Some may know that I have also had to take some time off work to deal with some of my own medical issues so funds are tight. I am making this new GoFundMe so this isn't confused with my previous one. I would also like to say thank you to everyone that has helped and support us. I really don't have words to describe how grateful I am to have the support we have and live in the community we live in.
I plan to head down around March 6th because there is a movie Aiden has wanted to see for quite some time coming out then. We would like to be able to stay for a week so the boys will be able to spend time with eachother. Give Aiden and Declan and myself some time together. And give their mom a break with some appointments so she can spend some much needed time with Lynkon. Depending on whether we drive or fly, I have calculated that we will need between $3500-$4250 cad for the trip. I've made the goal $5000 because anything extra will go to making more memories on the trip and to any unexpected costs.
Thank you for your consideration.
Josh
The Background: (from my previous fund)
In September 2016 I got a call no parent, or person, ever wants to get. I was driving home from town thinking of everything I would need for that weekend at the trailer. While hoping Aiden would be back from the hospital soon enough, with a reasonable enough excuse for his recent symptoms, to come along as well. Only to get a call telling me not to worry but to get to the hospital right away. There was no hiding the horror and fear in that voice, needing me there but also wanting me to make it. From the call to getting to the hospital is a blur of anger and tears.
I later found out that Aiden had a peach sized tumor at the base of his brain stem. It was why he had been losing his balance, falling asleep for hours, throwing up at random times. All things that would or should have screamed THERE IS A PROBLEM, but mid summer, 7-year-old boy who doesn’t stop running around at the trailer, barely eating… it was easy to think he just needed to drink more water, finish his dinner or pay attention to his surroundings. All things I beat myself up over for the months to come.
As we looked at the scans, I could hear the doctor talking but really only heard a few words. Key words that crushed my already fragile spirt. Blood vessels, he said the tumor had developed blood vessels. Which meant it was feeding it self. Surgery, which was clearly inevitable, would be much more dangerous. If brain surgery wasn’t bad enough, trying to cut a tumor out that had its own vasculature system worsened the odds even further. Slip one way brain damage, slip the other blood everywhere and death. Thank God our surgeon was amazing. 20+ hour surgery and Aiden was out.
Fast forward to December 2017. We had gotten home three months previous in September. Just staring to think it might be okay to stop worrying so much. Treatments were over. Physical rehabilitation, in hospital, was over. Trying to find a new normal. At that point we had to go in for follow-up MRIs to make sure things were normal and the cancer wasn’t growing… that scan, we weren’t so lucky.
We had done what they said. We fought for the fancy proton radiation. Took their advice on the chemotherapeutic drugs when we got back. Did what we were supposed to. But cancer doesn’t care. It had metastasized to another part of his brain. At this point I couldn’t let them keep bullying me into making their choices.
Canada is a weird place. Great in so many ways, it also has it faults. With so many cases here and even south of us in states like California people are treating cancer with cannabis. Some as a primary treatment and others as secondary or in conjunction with. I recently met a boy in there that had a brain tumor who is now cancer free! In Canada, even though recently legal our doctors are afraid to even look at the many cases where cannabis has killed cancer. Whether it’s due to fear of scorn or a legitimate lack of knowledge, this should no longer be allowed. Our children deserve better than 5% of cancer research funding.
Back when we had Aiden on chemo, we had stopped giving him CBD oil, the first thing a doctor will authorize a child to use if at all, because it could have an interaction with one of the chemo drugs, vincristine. I didn’t want to but after researching it I agreed the likelihood of an interaction was high. This whole time, from the first mention of cancer through to finding out it had come back. I had a tiny shred of hope, that cannabis could possibly work for Aiden. I had researched it for years, almost got sick of the idea that cannabis could be used for cancer. Then Aiden was diagnosed with medulloblastoma and it all made sense.
One of the projects I had in school lead me to a company that was doing clinical trails on cannabis use with chemo to help treat cancer. They saw improvement in life expectancy. Along with many other people that I’ve now had the honour of talking to and in some cases meeting.
After getting Aiden on this chemotherapeutic and special cannabis oil with a unique ratio of cannabinoids, not a secret just ask, he has had 2 scans that stabilized, 1 where it reduced in size by 25% and a fourth that is stable. This was after having another scan that had shown the cancer had metastasized beyond the point it had in December. Due to the ratio of cannabinoids, not available in Canada, and the desire to have impeccably clean material to make Aiden’s medicine with, I have been making the oil myself.
So, I am asking for help, and am writing to offer it. If there are other parents out there that have questions. Looking for resources. Needing to talk with another parent that’s been and is going through their own fire. Just ask.
A friend recently told me. “Surely you can feel overwhelmed, but don’t let it stop you from doing what needs to be done.” And as hard as it is some days, for these boys, anything is worth it!
Organizer
Josh Verk
Organizer
Almonte, ON