Help Colton fight metastatic stage 3 brain cancer

Hi, my name is Jessica and I’m fundraising for Colton Wray, my dear friend Brittany’s son who has endured so much.

Update 12/17/24:

Colton, a courageous young man, was accepted into a promising treatment trial in Ann Arbor, Michigan this past August. After enduring so much, his family had hope for a new path forward. But just two weeks ago, their world was turned upside down when doctors discovered that Colton’s tumor had grown 40% in size. Desperate for a solution, the medical team at the University of Michigan recommended a procedure called LITT (Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy). The procedure, which was supposed to be minimally invasive, involved threading a laser into the tumor through a tiny 3mm incision, with the goal of shrinking it from the inside out. It was the best option available, and they were optimistic.

On December 16th, Colton underwent a 10-hour surgery. The surgeon was able to remove 95% of the tumor, but the battle didn’t end there. Colton suffered unexpected complications, including seizures and hydrocephalus, leading to an emergency procedure to reduce swelling. As of now, Colton has not regained consciousness, and his family faces an agonizing uncertainty about his future.

This unexpected turn of events means that Colton’s family is now facing an extended stay in Michigan, far from their home and loved ones in the Chicagoland area, during the holiday season. They had hoped this would be the “easier” surgery, but instead, they are left grappling with heartbreak and confusion. They will likely remain in Michigan for weeks to come as Colton’s condition is closely monitored, making it difficult for them to be with their other children and family during Christmas.

For nearly 9 years, Colton has been in a relentless battle against brain cancer, showing incredible strength and resilience at every turn. Now, his family is facing even more hardship, both emotionally and financially, as they navigate this uncertain and challenging time.

This holiday season, we are asking for your help. Any donation—no matter how big or small—can make a significant difference in easing the burden on Colton's family as they focus on his recovery. They are in need of support for medical expenses, accommodations, travel, and time away from work. Most of all, they need the strength and hope that our collective support can offer.

Please consider making a donation to help lift their spirits and provide the comfort they need during this incredibly difficult time. If you are unable to contribute financially, please keep Colton and his family in your thoughts and prayers as they continue to fight for his recovery.

Thank you for your generosity and compassion. Together, we can make a difference in their lives this holiday season.

***Updated 2/14/24****

I’m sorry for not updating but truthfully, things have been changing daily. Between opinions for treatment, coordinating with doctors, scheduling, bloodwork, physicals, trials, convo’s with other ependymoma parents, molecular breakthroughs and every day living…..we’ve been busy and swirling through the past couple weeks. Thank you to everyone who reached out, donated and prayed for our little family. Here is the plan……Colton will have surgery on Friday, February 16th at 8:30 AM. The surgery will take about 4-5 hours. During surgery they are putting in an ommaya (this goes straight into his ventrical where the little bugger is located). This ommaya is a port where they will be deliver chemotherapy straight into his ventricles. Chemo was never an option for us before. Science is changing constanly and now we have the option to try to reduce the tumor growth by placing chemo directly into the brain by bypassing the blood-brain barrier where oral chemo doesn’t penetrate through. His schedule will be hectic….

week 1: injections into the ommaya every morning for 5 days. IV infusions, 5 oral meds at home

week 2: nothing but oral meds from home….this is so hard. He’s never been on any prescriptions.

week 3: 2 injections, IV infusions, 5 oral meds at home

week 4: 2 injections, IV infusions, 5 oral meds at home

Then we start all over again…..for a year at LEAST. Every one of those treatments means we are driving to Chicago.

We are hopeful to send his tumor off to Seattle for molecular testing. This will pinpoint the best treatment options in regards to Chemotherapy. It’s out of pocket $6000 but it’s worth it for the future of ependymoma study alone. Things are on the horizon and we need a cure!

Colton will hopefully be able to go to school and he won’t lose his hair, (this was a major concern, of course!). The port (ommaya) will not show and LORD, are we happy about that too!

As of today, ependymoma is not a curable disease. With this treatment, we hope to keep it at bay forever. I’m supper grateful we have the option to use cannabis in addition to chemo. I’ve always said we would never do this. The good outweighs the bad and we have cannabis ninjas to help us protect his healthy cells. There are TONS of studies out there that show cannabis does an amazing job of helping reduce healthy cell damage during radiation and chemo so that’s such a relief he can keep using it!!

Please continue to pray for our little family and know we feel the love. Our angels are here with us from the great beyond to right here on Earth. We’ve got this….Colton’s got this!! Here to change the world.

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More on Colton’s story….

Colton is a fun loving 13 year old who adores his family, his cat & fingerboarding. In 2015, Colton was diagnosed with Anaplastic Ependymoma, a very aggressive cancer (Stage 3 brain cancer.) At just 5 years old Colton had a craniotomy to remove the cancer followed by 33 rounds of radiation. He continued to do well until his relapse in 2019 when he had his second craniotomy. Sadly, last September Colton was again diagnosed with another tumor. He had his 3rd brain surgery on Sept 19th. In January, Colton had a 3 month follow up MRI where unfortunately another tumor was found, this time Metastatic. Colton had his 4th craniotomy on February 22, 2023.

Since Colton has had a couple of reoccurrences, chances are it’ll keep re-emerging and surgery won’t always work for the tumors. Colton will be undergoing 7 weeks of Proton Radiation at MD Anderson in Houston Texas. He will lose all of his beautiful, long hair, he will be sick. It’s a scary and uncertain time for them. The family embarks on this journey the very beginning of April. In fact, Colton completed his last day of 6th grade today (3/20/23) as he won’t return back to Barrington until the end of May.

We are so grateful to live in such a loving and generous community. Lets all gather to support this wonderful family both in raising spirits and raising necessary funds for the mounting costs the family is enduring. All funds raised will go directly to Colton’s family to assist with all things associated with their struggling including healthcare costs, medical care, travel expenses to and from Houston, housing costs, lost time of work and special dietary needs, etc. The family should be focusing on healing and thriving, we can help by relieving some of that financial burden that they have been faced with. We also hope to send Colton & his family to Disney World/ Universal Studios when he’s feeling better. Again, thank you for your support. Let’s all pray for Colton and his family.