Pray for Landen

This campaign is to help pay for Landen and his mother Robyn, who will be out of work during his treatment.

Starting back around October Laden began to suffer from nosebleeds, which we thought were just seasonal. On December 6 he went to an annual checkup, during which the nosebleeds were brought up as a concern. The doctor said the left side of his nose appeared to be obstructed and sent him to the ENT. The doctors there said that they believed that it was a polyp that was blocking his nostril. They gave him an oral and nasal steroid and told him to come back the next week. When he went to his second follow-up he had used the oral steroid but his insurance had not yet approved the nasal steroid, so they told him to come back later. They went back and he was experiencing headaches and complained about pain in his ear. The nasal spray was approved and he was given antibiotics. He visited on December 31 where another doctor was called in and recommended a CT scan. On January 6th he was taken to the ER after passing out. They informed us that he had Pneumonia at this point, so he restarted the steroids and antibiotics. On January 9 he had a CT Scan done to see the extent of the polyp. That night we received a call from the ENT that it was not a polyp, but a mass that was obstructing his nasal cavity and left septum.

The report stated "There is a large soft tissue mass with the epicenter in the medial aspect of the left maxillary sinus extending superiorly and medially with thinning and erosion of multiple osseous structures including the floor of the left ethmoid sinus. The mass completely obliterates the left maxillary antrum, most of the nasal cavity and left ethmoid sinus and the left sphenoid sinus. There is a bony defect in the sphenoid bone adjacent to the lateral left pteryfoid plate and intracranial extension of the mass cannot be excluded."  They wanted them to meet with a specialist on the 17th. Before the appointment happened Landen lost the ability to breath out of his right side as well, so he was taken to the ER and was sent to UVA via ambulance. They ran tests on the mass, revealing that it was not cancerous.

Landen has Juvenile Nasopharyngeal Angiofibroma, a highly aggressive tumor inside of his head. As of writing this it is the size of a grapefruit and attached to his carotid artery. It has broken through his cheek bone and has destroyed the base of his skull. The tumor is also pushing against his pituitary gland, meaning that he has to take daily medication to manage his hormones. They are currently examining the thyroid. It may have affected his eyes too, as he cannot look to the left completely. The surgery will take place in February to remove as much of the mass as possible. It is a two-part surgery, beginning with embolization (cutting off the blood-flow) of the mass. The next day the surgery will be conducted by two teams of surgeons. They will have to cut under his lip, through his nose, on his neck, the base of the skull, and perform a craniotomy to gather tissue to replace the base of his skull. The surgery carries a high risk of blood loss due to the location, as well as minor risks of blindness or damaged sight. He will most likely never regain feeling in his cheek and it is possible he will need medicine for life to manage his hormones and blood pressure. There are many follow-up appointments after the surgery to monitor the tumor. The doctors also informed us that the tumor could return as long as Landen was going through puberty, which could be until he is 18. 

The goal of this campaign is to help pay for living expenses, as Robyn had to take a leave from work to help monitor Landen and take him to UVA regularly. UVA is a few hours away from where she lives, so she is not able to work her third-shift job while taking care of him during the day. As of right now she has been told it will be at least a four month period. All donations will go to necessary expenses, such as groceries, bills, and gas that would normally be covered.  We are grateful for any and all help during this difficult time. We will post updates regularly to let everyone know how Landen is doing. Continue prayers and thank you all for the support.