Michelle's Medical Fund

Ashlie Dao is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Van Tran.

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On Friday, May 13th, 2016, 46-year old, Michelle Tran, was trying to go through another day as a single mother. Typically, she is an energetic and upbeat person, able to handle all sorts of work-related and parental pressures; a “supermom” in all respects. Michelle was buying supplies for her Kale Drink product line, dealing with new customer contracts, thinking about preparing her 7-year old daughter, Qiana, for after-school dance and music classes. However, she was not able to finish her busy day as planned. In fact, in the middle of all that activity her body failed her.

By the end of that Friday, Michelle was rushed to Hoag Memorial Emergency due to several fainting episodes, severe headaches, and back pain throughout the afternoon. The initial MRIs of her head and torso revealed that there were approximately 2.0 cm growths on her brain stem and lower lumbar spinal cord. The on-call neurologist immediately performed brain surgery to implant a VP shunt to relieve the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) accumulating in Michelle’s head due to the growth at the brain stem. This was a life-saving operation according to the neurologist, done at the nick of time. Any further delay would have resulted in organ shutdown and death, probably within 24 hours, as the brain became more and more damaged with the increased inter-cranial pressure.

Michelle’s work ethic and devotion to her daughter is much admired by her many friends, colleagues, and of course family. She’s been intimately involved with the fast-paced Vietnamese entertainment industry in Orange County, CA, for decades and is probably the reason why her daily personal rhythm is just as fast paced. It is such a shock to witness Michelle’s current condition, not only with regards to the seriousness of the MRI findings, but how totally incapacitated Michelle became overnight. In fact, if it were not for Luu Bich, Michelle’s close friend, insisting to go to the emergency room, Michelle would have soldiered on through her pain per her normal personality.

It has now been several weeks since the initial surgery that saved her life. The growths have been confirmed to be malignant, but a final determination of the type of cancer cell is in dispute within the Hoag Cancer Board. The lesion on the brain stem is inoperable; and the lesions on the spinal cord have been observed to be spreading. Treatment plans are not finalized until the cancer cell type is concluded. It is assumed that there will be a combination of low yield radiation and chemotherapy. The family hopes to find alternatives through clinical trial drugs that may have better tolerated side effects.

In addition to the physical and emotional toll due to the cancer, Michelle has had to close down her existing business and stop all contract discussions. Her apartment had to be vacated, her belongings stored, since she requires 24/7 assisted care. Her daughter, Qiana, is carefully being taken care of by the extended family, but misses her mom. It was only a week after her 7th birthday that Michelle began to get critically ill. On top of the substantial medical bills after almost a month of hospitalization, Michelle has lost her ability to generate income.

Her family and friends at “Paris by Night” (Thúy Nga Productions) and Little Chopin Music School are establishing this GoFundMe account to show their love and support for Michelle and Qiana, a mother and daughter team who mean so much to all of us. No donation is too small; hopefully we can fix the financial burden to a significant degree that it is one less thing that Michelle has to worry about. We want her to enjoy quality time with her daughter as much as she can.