TEAMminiBACK

Please help support Richie "miniback" Ward a
18 year old who is fighting brain cancer...

Richie "miniback" Ward is the 17 year old son of Jennifer (Hargrove) and Donald Ward from Lexington, KY who is battling brain cancer. Before his diagnosis Richie played football and lacrosse. He was a part of the Morning News Crew and had been accepted into the Pre-Engineering program at the local technical school.

On May 20, 2014 our lives changed when an MRI showed a tumor growing on the ...front lobe of Richie's brain. A surgery in early June was thought to have removed all of the tumor. However, upon further review and after pathologists studied the mass, doctors decided to remove a small amount of questionable tissue remaining in the brain. After his second surgery, Richie will begin both radiation and chemotherapy treatments.

UPDATE: 9/2/2014 Richie had his second surgery on July 8, 2014. Though everything seemed to go well, he spent almost the full week in the hospital. During this time we learned there was an infection at the original incision site. This required the lengthy use of IV antibiotics, necessitating the minor surgery to have a pic line put in.

After three weeks of recovery time, Richie was scheduled to begin treatment. However, a high fever and low cell count sent us to the hospital for a third time. Another week's stay saw new antibiotics, the withdraw of the pic line and the implant of a port into his chest.

Richie was able to begin school on time though he is struggling to keep up with the work he's missing due to regular doctor visits. The radiation treatments are causing swelling which is affecting his eyesight and he is losing his hair in random clumps.

UPDATE: After 2.5 years off treatment, a routine MRI showed that Richie's tumor had returned. In July 2018 he had a third surgery to remove the tumor. While waiting to begin treatment in August, a follow-up MRI showed that there was again tumor regrowth. We are now proceeding with chemo in the hopes of buying Richie time to get into a clinical trial. With his older brother beginning his first year of college and mom taking time off work to be with him, the family is thankful for any help that may offset the loss of time at work. 

It is our hope that through this page, Richie can be lifted up by those who love him. We also hope to connect with those who may have faced the same monster we're now facing. With the grace of God, we hope Richie will be able to return to as many of his previous activities as possible.

You can make donations to our Gofundme account by clicking here http://www.gofundme.com/RichiesRiches any assistance is appreciated. However, prayer is the best currency anyone can offer!