Johnny's Story
Donation protected
On Christmas Day, 2019, the Karcher family received some devastating news: their cherished 8 year old son, Johnny, was diagnosed with a posterior fossa brain tumor. He spent the next several days in the ICU.
On January 3, Johnny underwent a 7 hour surgery by the brilliant neurosurgery team at Seattle Children's Hospital. The surgeon performed maximal safe removal of the tumor from Johnny's cerebellum, but was unable to remove the tumor from Johnny's brain stem, because it is an inoperable area of the brain.
Since the surgery, Johnny has demonstrated remarkable strength and resilience as he heals. Johnny is now continuing his recovery at home in the loving care of his parents, Lauren and Steve, along with his two sisters, Madeline and Gwendolyn.
The Karcher family face a challenging road ahead. Johnny will require many months of surgical recovery, occupational and physical therapy, speech and cognitive rehabilitation, follow-on treatment, lifelong monitoring, etc.
Despite having good health insurance, the Karchers now face a mounting medical bill (in the form of deductibles and out-of-pocket medical expenses), especially so that Johnny can continue his care with the pediatric brain tumor team at Seattle Children's Hospital.
Any contribution, no matter how small, will help to ease their burden, will be received with enormous gratitude and will help Lauren and Steve to focus their attention on their children.
If you would like to send messages of support to the Karcher family:
[email redacted]
On January 3, Johnny underwent a 7 hour surgery by the brilliant neurosurgery team at Seattle Children's Hospital. The surgeon performed maximal safe removal of the tumor from Johnny's cerebellum, but was unable to remove the tumor from Johnny's brain stem, because it is an inoperable area of the brain.
Since the surgery, Johnny has demonstrated remarkable strength and resilience as he heals. Johnny is now continuing his recovery at home in the loving care of his parents, Lauren and Steve, along with his two sisters, Madeline and Gwendolyn.
The Karcher family face a challenging road ahead. Johnny will require many months of surgical recovery, occupational and physical therapy, speech and cognitive rehabilitation, follow-on treatment, lifelong monitoring, etc.
Despite having good health insurance, the Karchers now face a mounting medical bill (in the form of deductibles and out-of-pocket medical expenses), especially so that Johnny can continue his care with the pediatric brain tumor team at Seattle Children's Hospital.
Any contribution, no matter how small, will help to ease their burden, will be received with enormous gratitude and will help Lauren and Steve to focus their attention on their children.
If you would like to send messages of support to the Karcher family:
[email redacted]
Organizer and beneficiary
Hannah (McGrath) Howard
Organizer
Petaluma, CA
Johnathan Karcher
Beneficiary