Austin Spears
Donation protected
PLEASE CLICK “UPDATES” FOR NEWEST INFORMATION CONCERNING AUSTIN AND HIS DIAGNOSIS, & PROGRESS. IT IS LOCATED BESIDE OF THE “STORY” BUTTON ABOVE THIS TEXT.
• GoFundMe does take a percentage of all donations, so if you’d rather Austin and his family get the full amount of the donation, you can use my paypal to send it if you’d rather. We have had several people do it that way. •
My Email is [email redacted]
• The following message is the initial summary of what has been going on with Austin for the last year, following up to this point.
On June 21st, we found out Austins tumor was in fact cancerous. We were not expecting this news at all, because it is so rare. We will be posting updates periodically to the gofundme as we gather more information. •
Austin started experiencing pain and numbness in his back and legs in early 2018. He was walking fine, but as time progressed he slowly started getting worse and worse.. by September, he was limping. By December, he was using a walking stick to help him keep his balance. By February he went to a cane, and in late March he was using a walker and a wheelchair if the distances were very long.
We started going to hospitals to try to find help. The only thing they diagnosed him with were bulging discs around the middle section of his back. They gave him some medicine, and sent him home. This happened more than 5x by 3 different hospitals in a few months time.
By April, he had to take a leave from work because he was not physically able to do what he was able to just weeks ago...
And then In May, he finally went to another hospital.
The team at St. Mary’s in Huntington WV decided to do an MRI, and diagnosed him with a
• Schwannoma tumor :
It expanded from his T8 to his L5, and was compressing against the nerves so badly that it was essentially paralyzing him..
He was also starting to experience signal change in his spine.
His surgeon decided to jump in and do surgery after a few more tests, less than two weeks later.
On May 16th, Austin went into surgery. It was 18.5 hours long, and they removed what they could, but there is still a little bit left..
He is now recovering in a rehabilitation hospital in Huntington until he is well enough to come home.
He still cannot walk.. and they’re ordering him a custom wheelchair to take home, as well as other equipment for the home.
He will be doing physical therapy several days a week for a while once he comes home, and it can take up to a year for him to regain his ability to walk..
We just wanted to set this up Incase anyone wanted to consider donating to help with the costs of traveling to and from his rehab until he is better.

• We now have an update to add to his story •
The Pathology report on Austins tumor came back as cancerous. It is called a Anaplastic Ependymoma. It is usually found in children.
He has been transferred to Uk Children’s Hospital in Lexington to be treated by pediatric oncologists, because the oncologist at St. Mary’s has never dealt with this tumor, mainly because it is so incredibly rare.
We will find out more information about treatment in the next few days, and will update this accordingly.
• GoFundMe does take a percentage of all donations, so if you’d rather Austin and his family get the full amount of the donation, you can use my paypal to send it if you’d rather. We have had several people do it that way. •
My Email is [email redacted]
• The following message is the initial summary of what has been going on with Austin for the last year, following up to this point.
On June 21st, we found out Austins tumor was in fact cancerous. We were not expecting this news at all, because it is so rare. We will be posting updates periodically to the gofundme as we gather more information. •
Austin started experiencing pain and numbness in his back and legs in early 2018. He was walking fine, but as time progressed he slowly started getting worse and worse.. by September, he was limping. By December, he was using a walking stick to help him keep his balance. By February he went to a cane, and in late March he was using a walker and a wheelchair if the distances were very long.
We started going to hospitals to try to find help. The only thing they diagnosed him with were bulging discs around the middle section of his back. They gave him some medicine, and sent him home. This happened more than 5x by 3 different hospitals in a few months time.
By April, he had to take a leave from work because he was not physically able to do what he was able to just weeks ago...
And then In May, he finally went to another hospital.
The team at St. Mary’s in Huntington WV decided to do an MRI, and diagnosed him with a
• Schwannoma tumor :
It expanded from his T8 to his L5, and was compressing against the nerves so badly that it was essentially paralyzing him..
He was also starting to experience signal change in his spine.
His surgeon decided to jump in and do surgery after a few more tests, less than two weeks later.
On May 16th, Austin went into surgery. It was 18.5 hours long, and they removed what they could, but there is still a little bit left..
He is now recovering in a rehabilitation hospital in Huntington until he is well enough to come home.
He still cannot walk.. and they’re ordering him a custom wheelchair to take home, as well as other equipment for the home.
He will be doing physical therapy several days a week for a while once he comes home, and it can take up to a year for him to regain his ability to walk..
We just wanted to set this up Incase anyone wanted to consider donating to help with the costs of traveling to and from his rehab until he is better.
• We now have an update to add to his story •
The Pathology report on Austins tumor came back as cancerous. It is called a Anaplastic Ependymoma. It is usually found in children.
He has been transferred to Uk Children’s Hospital in Lexington to be treated by pediatric oncologists, because the oncologist at St. Mary’s has never dealt with this tumor, mainly because it is so incredibly rare.
We will find out more information about treatment in the next few days, and will update this accordingly.
Organizer
Libby Adams
Organizer
Davisport, KY