Conor Rigan
Donation protected
December 4, 2019
Patrick and Sarah Rigan's life changed in an instant when CT scans of their 6-month old son, Conor, revealed a large amount of fluid in the frontal lobes of his brain and a mass in the back of his head next to his brainstem. Sarah and Conor were immediately airlifted from Traverse City to DeVos Children's Hospital where he underwent a procedure for an EVD (external ventricular drain) in his brain right away to drain the fluid and release pressure. Conor spent five days under the care of the amazing nurses, doctors and surgeons at DeVos.
On December 8th, Conor was transferred to UofM Mott Children's Hospital, and two days later underwent a successful 12-hour surgery. The tumor was located in a very difficult spot, but surgeons did their best to remove as much as they could without harming the central nerves on his brainstem. Conor has been a true fighter both during and after surgery. The days spent post-op were a rollercoaster ride of emotions for his family.
We are celebrating the successful surgery, but the Rigans still have a long road ahead. That long road begins with chemotherapy. While the tumor is no longer detectable on the scans, the surgeons know that cells were left and need to be treated. The pathology reports show that they are a more aggressive form of cancer cells. Conor will start chemotherapy as soon as possible and each treatment may require a 1-3 night hospital stay. Each round of chemotherapy lasts 3-4 weeks. They would like to do 2-4 rounds of chemotherapy to hold him over until he is old enough for radiation (12 months old).
Conor has overcome the odds with his recovery after brain surgery and he is not alone in this fight! Please continue to pray for Conor and his amazing family. Donations to their family are received with tremendous gratitude as they face expenses for Conor's treatment, round-trips from Traverse City to Ann Arbor, as well as future medical needs. This campaign has been started in response to those seeking additional opportunities to help Sarah and Patrick as they remain focused on Conor as well as his beautiful big sister, Tenley.
Updates on Conor's journey can be found on the CaringBridge website: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/conorrigan
Patrick and Sarah Rigan's life changed in an instant when CT scans of their 6-month old son, Conor, revealed a large amount of fluid in the frontal lobes of his brain and a mass in the back of his head next to his brainstem. Sarah and Conor were immediately airlifted from Traverse City to DeVos Children's Hospital where he underwent a procedure for an EVD (external ventricular drain) in his brain right away to drain the fluid and release pressure. Conor spent five days under the care of the amazing nurses, doctors and surgeons at DeVos.
On December 8th, Conor was transferred to UofM Mott Children's Hospital, and two days later underwent a successful 12-hour surgery. The tumor was located in a very difficult spot, but surgeons did their best to remove as much as they could without harming the central nerves on his brainstem. Conor has been a true fighter both during and after surgery. The days spent post-op were a rollercoaster ride of emotions for his family.
We are celebrating the successful surgery, but the Rigans still have a long road ahead. That long road begins with chemotherapy. While the tumor is no longer detectable on the scans, the surgeons know that cells were left and need to be treated. The pathology reports show that they are a more aggressive form of cancer cells. Conor will start chemotherapy as soon as possible and each treatment may require a 1-3 night hospital stay. Each round of chemotherapy lasts 3-4 weeks. They would like to do 2-4 rounds of chemotherapy to hold him over until he is old enough for radiation (12 months old).
Conor has overcome the odds with his recovery after brain surgery and he is not alone in this fight! Please continue to pray for Conor and his amazing family. Donations to their family are received with tremendous gratitude as they face expenses for Conor's treatment, round-trips from Traverse City to Ann Arbor, as well as future medical needs. This campaign has been started in response to those seeking additional opportunities to help Sarah and Patrick as they remain focused on Conor as well as his beautiful big sister, Tenley.
Updates on Conor's journey can be found on the CaringBridge website: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/conorrigan
Organizer and beneficiary
Kristen Carpenter
Organizer
Traverse City, MI
Sarah Rigan
Beneficiary